France has long been in search of a Grand Slam champion. But as far as Ivan Ljubicic is concerned, the progression from outside contenders to genuine favorites for Grand Slam titles will take some time for the French contingent. Serving as the technical expert at the FFT, the former World No. 3 had a realistic take on the country’s underperformance at the Majors.

“We have to accept the current situation. We continue to work at the Federation level to ensure that future generations will be able to progress and perform well,” said Ljubicic in an interview with L’Equipe. “We’re trying to support the professional players. But unfortunately, the situation is what it is.” [Trans. from French]

To ensure that the development of the younger players is going on track, Ljubicic is working to have the appropriate infrastructure to have success at the Grand Slam stage. He is the head of the Ambition program of the French Tennis Federation, which is targeted towards the growth of the tennis players in the country aged 14 and above.

At the recently concluded Wimbledon, France fielded a strong 19-member squad, with 15 men and 4 women, but the best result for any French player was Arthur Rinderknech reaching the third round. The two other seeded Frenchmen, Arthur Fils and Ugo Humbert, were knocked out in the second and first rounds, respectively. During their home Major at Roland Garros, the home players could not have a great show for the crowd, as Diane Parry was the only French player to have made it till the fourth round.

Even though Grand Slam results have not gone their way, the trio of Fils, Rinderknech, and Humbert has kept their spots in the Top 30 of the ATP rankings. Fils is expected to be the next big French hope at the Slams, but the young Frenchman has struggled with injuries in recent years, withdrawing from the French Open even though he had a good clay-court season, winning a title in Barcelona. However, on the women’s side, there has been a lack of top-ranked French players, as none from the country are in the WTA Top 50.

Even though Grand Slam success has been difficult to come by in recent times, French tennis was one of the first superpowers in the sport, dating back to the 1920s.

French Tennis Was One of the Powerhouses in the Sport

French tennis was one of the early powerhouses in the sport, with the likes of Jean Borotra, Rene Lacoste, and Henri Cochet dominating the Grand Slam scene in the 1920s, with the trio winning 18 Major titles among them, while also being a dominant force at the Davis Cup, winning it six times from 1927 to 1932. On the women’s side, Suzan Lenglen was the poster girl in women’s tennis, winning two Major titles in the Grand Slam era after 1925.

Since 2000, two French women have tasted Grand Slam success. Mary Pierce won one singles title at the French Open, whereas Amelie Mauresmo won one each at Wimbledon and the Australian Open. Mauresmo went on to become No.1 in the world, while also winning five WTA 1000 titles in her career. More recently, Caroline Garcia won three WTA 1000 titles but could not go past the semifinals at Slams.

For the men, France has seen several promising prospects, such as Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Gael Monfils, who made occasional deep runs at Majors but could not go all the way. Among them, Tsonga was the closest to winning a title in the 2008 Australian Open final but lost to Novak Djokovic. However, Tsonga had won two Masters 1000 titles and was a key member of the French team, which won the Davis Cup in 2017. As for Grand Slam success, Yannick Noah remains the last French male winner of a Major, having won the French Open in 1983.