A Year After Disappointing Iga Swiatek, French Open Director Continues to Speak Boldly as She Pulls Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Others in a Fiery Take

Published 05/30/2023, 4:33 PM EDT

For 43-year-old Amelie Mauresmo, 2023 marks her second consecutive year as director of the French Open. A former tennis player herself, Mauresmo was once at the top of the women’s game as she put in some electrifying displays to become World No. 1 in the WTA Tour rankings. However, now, as the French Open’s director, her role has drastically changed. Despite that fact, Mauresmo still makes the news from time to time, and not always for all the right reasons. For instance, in 2022, her comments regarding the controversial scheduling of the French Open’s night-session matches came under scrutiny.

Once again, Mauresmo seems to have caused quite a stir with her comments. Recently, Mauresmo looked back on her time as a dominant force in women’s tennis. While she praised herself along with her contemporaries, her comments won’t go down too well with the current crop of women’s tennis players.

Amelie Mauresmo showers praises on the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova but indirectly criticizes the current generation

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For Mauresmo, making it to the top of the WTA Tour rankings was tough. After all, when she was at the peak of her powers, she had to compete with the likes of Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and several other technically gifted players. The intense competition in women’s tennis at the time resulted in millions around the world tuning into their matches on a regular basis.

In an interview with The Telegraph, Mauresmo reflected on the fierce competition during her playing days. The French Open director said, “I definitely think [ours] was a great era”. Mauresmo went on to say, “We were a group of eight or ten players that were really all the time in the later rounds of tournaments, Grand Slams and also the others.”

Furthermore, Mauresmo stated, “We were coming back in people’s face every week almost”. She concluded by saying, “So I think it’s a good thing for the people who were following, but also not that much following tennis.”

Mauresmo’s critics won’t take too kindly to her words

There’s no denying the appeal that players like Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Mauresmo herself had. However, the fact is that the current generation of players boasts some superlative talents as well. Of course, they haven’t yet hit the heights of the era that Mauresmo was talking about. However, with time, some of them can only get better and better.

Mauresmo’s interview still hasn’t garnered any significant response from prominent players. After all, they’re all busy with their preparations for their French Open matches. However, if the past is anything to go by, it’s safe to say that the current generation of women’s tennis players won’t be too happy with what she has said.

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Mauresmo triggered quite an uproar among prominent names in women’s tennis last year as well. At the time, Mauresmo was quizzed about the scheduling inequalities of the French Open’s night-session matches. In her response, Mauresmo quite blatantly said that men’s tennis carries more appeal than women’s tennis. World No. 1 Iga Swiatek was quick to express her shock, dismay, and disappointment at Mauresmo’s disrespectful comments.

Will Iga again react to the French Open director’s comments?

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Written by:

Sudipto is a Tennis writer at EssentiallySports. He completed his graduation in Journalism and Mass Communication in 2012. His passion for writing became a full-time profession in 2019 after working as a musician and travelling educator.

Edited by:

Tony Thomas

A Year After Disappointing Iga Swiatek, French Open Director Continues to Speak Boldly as She Pulls Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova, and Others in a Fiery Take

Amelie Mauresmo showers praises on the likes of Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova but indirectly criticizes the current generation

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Mauresmo’s critics won’t take too kindly to her words