File Picture Courtesy : Tennis World USA
Former World No 1 Amelie Mauresmo became the first woman appointed to captain France’s Davis Cup team.
Mauresmo succeeds Yannick Noah next year, the French tennis federation (FFT) announced.
In contrast, Julien Benneteau, who retires after the US Open in September, will take the reins of France’s side in the women’s equivalent the Fed Cup.
Mauresmo, who turns 39 on 5 July, was captain of the Fed Cup team in 2015 and 2016, and led them from the second division to the final of the competition, which they lost to the Czech Republic in Strasbourg.
At a press conference to unveil the two captains, FFT president Bernard Giudicelli hailed a “completely groundbreaking choice” of putting “a woman in charge of French men’s tennis.”
Mauresmo is unique among French players of the modern era. She is the only one to be ranked No 1 in the world (for 39 weeks in 2004 and 2006). She also won two majors, the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2006, as well as the Fed Cup, in 2003.
