The volley podcast #2 : How did French tennis sink to a new low ?
- 3 years ago
With no French player making it through to the third round of this year’s Roland-Garros, Simon Cambers asks Cedric Rouquette to explain how we got to this point.
“France is a country that still delivers a lot of players. The problem is that we are seeking a Grand Slam winner for the men since 1983. On the women’s side, France has had more winners but nobody since Marion Bartoli won Wimbledon in 2013. We lack players who are able to reach the finals, semi-finals or quarter finals (at the Slams).”
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached a Grand Slam final, Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils made Grand Slam semi-finals while on the women’s side, Mary Pierce, Amelie Mauresmo and Marion Bartoli all picked up Grand Slam titles.
IS THIS THE END OF AN ERA FOR FRENCH TENNIS?
“That’s the end of an era, but saying that, you forget that Tsonga, Gasquet and Monfils didn’t win a Grand Slam,” Rouquette added. “They say it’s normal because of the Big 3 era, but Del Potro, Cilic and Wawrinka showed that you could find your path. Tsonga once said that he deserved (to win a Grand Slam) as (much as) Wawrinka deserved. I’m not sure what that means. It’s probably not normal that this generation did not win a Grand Slam and the reason why they didn’t win a Grand Slam is the same that explains why we lack elite players. It’s related to the way we lead players to a high level in France. Why such a powerful federation is not able to create champions while Serbia, Switzerland, Russia, Italy are able to do so.”
The French Tennis Federation held a press conference to address some of the plans to rectify things last week. Rouquette said it was not entirely clear what they planned to do : “Their objective is to let every player, man or woman, to be very clear on the way they want to reach high level, to let them chose their option between federation and private coaches. The Federation say today that every path is legitimate. But it is one thing to say it and another to drive it.”
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“France is a country that still delivers a lot of players. The problem is that we are seeking a Grand Slam winner for the men since 1983. On the women’s side, France has had more winners but nobody since Marion Bartoli won Wimbledon in 2013. We lack players who are able to reach the finals, semi-finals or quarter finals (at the Slams).”
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga reached a Grand Slam final, Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils made Grand Slam semi-finals while on the women’s side, Mary Pierce, Amelie Mauresmo and Marion Bartoli all picked up Grand Slam titles.
IS THIS THE END OF AN ERA FOR FRENCH TENNIS?
“That’s the end of an era, but saying that, you forget that Tsonga, Gasquet and Monfils didn’t win a Grand Slam,” Rouquette added. “They say it’s normal because of the Big 3 era, but Del Potro, Cilic and Wawrinka showed that you could find your path. Tsonga once said that he deserved (to win a Grand Slam) as (much as) Wawrinka deserved. I’m not sure what that means. It’s probably not normal that this generation did not win a Grand Slam and the reason why they didn’t win a Grand Slam is the same that explains why we lack elite players. It’s related to the way we lead players to a high level in France. Why such a powerful federation is not able to create champions while Serbia, Switzerland, Russia, Italy are able to do so.”
The French Tennis Federation held a press conference to address some of the plans to rectify things last week. Rouquette said it was not entirely clear what they planned to do : “Their objective is to let every player, man or woman, to be very clear on the way they want to reach high level, to let them chose their option between federation and private coaches. The Federation say today that every path is legitimate. But it is one thing to say it and another to drive it.”
Tennis Majors : https://www.tennismajors.com
Our Podcasts : https://www.tennismajors.com/podcasts/the-volley