Amelie Mauresmo

Amelie Mauresmo

Amelie Mauresmo announced herself at the 1999 Australian Open: unseeded at 19, she beat world No. 1 Lindsay Davenport on the way to the final, and came out publicly during the fortnight, carrying the moment with a steadiness that outlasted the headlines. The tennis deserved its own attention, a heavy one-handed backhand, soft hands and one of the best net games of her era. In September 2004 she became the first Frenchwoman to reach world No. 1, 39 weeks in all, still without a major.

The missing major hardened into a story about nerves, and 2006 broke it twice. She won the Australian Open when Justine Henin retired in the final, then removed any asterisk at Wimbledon, beating Henin again from a set down, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Those 2 majors sit at the centre of 25 career titles. After retiring in 2009 she kept making firsts: coach to Andy Murray from 2014 to 2016, and in 2021 the first woman to direct Roland Garros.