Amelie Mauresmo Biography

Amelie Mauresmo won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon tennis tournaments in 2006. They were her first major championships, but Amelie Mauresmo was already among the elite of women’s tennis, known in particular for her powerful physique and athletic game. Mauresmo played in her first professional tournaments in 1995, and qualified for her first French Open the same year. She claimed her first WTA title in Bratislava in 1999. The same year, she made headlines off the court after telling a French newspaper that she was gay. Early in her career, her critics claimed she lacked the mental toughness to make her a major champion. Then came her 2006 majors breakthroughs at Australia and Wimbledon. (She defeated Justine Henin-Hardenne in the finals of both tournaments.) Mauresmo won a total of 25 singles titles in her career. She was ranked number one in the world for five weeks in 2004, becoming the first French woman to hold that position since the era of computer rankings began in 1975. She retired in 2009.