Retired champion Marion Bartoli believes Andy Murray’s appointment of her former coach Amelie Mauresmo is a “huge step” for women in sport.
Mauresmo, a champion at the All England Club as a player in 2006, helped guide Bartoli to a surprising Wimbledon title last year and the 34-year-old Frenchwoman will hope to do the same with her new student, Murray this fortnight.
“I met her (Mauresmo) this morning. We were talking about it, that she’s kind of the defending champion here and she has to defend a title,” said Bartoli.
“I think it’s amazing to see that a guy, really one of the top players in the world, is hiring a woman to coach him. That is showing the next generation that women can actually coach some guys.
“It has been the case in football already, and now is in tennis, so that’s really a huge step forward. I’m sure it’s going to be a great combination.
“I mean, Amelie kind of won Wimbledon as a player, as a coach without dropping a set with me last year, so… She is definitely on a good roll.”
Bartoli, who announced her retirement from tennis barely a month after clinching the title at Wimbledon, is happy to return to the All England Club but insists she has no regrets of ending her career when she did, saying she is still suffering from the aftermath of all the injuries she had picked up.
“Look at my shoulder. Literally I can’t even lift my arm every morning,” stated Bartoli.
“So definitely no regrets at all.”
A lot has changed since Bartoli won the title in London and sheagrees that the younger generation is finally stepping up. She named Eugenie Bouchard, Madison Keys and Garbine Muguruza as the young guns to look out for.
She said: “These youngsters are coming out and are not afraid to beat the established players. When you see Serena (Williams) going out 6‑2, 6‑2 to Muguruza in a grand slam, that’s really not something we were used to seeing maybe five or ten years ago.
“I think they’re (the younger players) really coming out fearless and they just play and believe every time they’re on the court they’re going to beat whoever is on the other side of the net.”
