Where it all began :

Amélie is four years old when she watches the 1983 French Open final between Yannick Noah and Mats Wilander with her parents. In fact, she gets so wrapped up in the game that her parents buy her a racquet. At six year old, they enrol Amélie in the Bornel tennis club. Amélie remembers: “I remember my first tennis instructor. Her name was Inger Delamare. She was the first one to notice my potential. Then there was Philippe Leroy, whom I met at Bornel and met again at TC Méru. He was the epitome of what a great teacher should be. And he was just a wonderful person.” With Patrick Simon as her coach, Amélie’s progresses by leaps and bounds. So much so that three years later, the Fédération Française du Tennis, the French Tennis Federation (FFT), sees her talent and invites her to join the Tennis/School program in Blois. Amélie is 11 years old. She is thrilled and her parents can only resign themselves to watching her go. “Even then, tennis was my passion. But after three years, I knew for sure that I wanted to be a professional tennis player.”

At 14 years old, Amélie enrols at INSEP Vincennes, a national institute for sports and physical education. There, she meets Gail Lovera, ex-French No.1 from Australia who passes on to Amélie both her enthusiasm for tennis and her topspin backhand, which Amélie says was revolutionary to her game. In 1994, Amélie is 15 and trains at the national training centre at Roland Garros, the Centre d’Entrainement National. She is happy. She meets up again with Patrick Simon, one of her first coaches and discovers the international tournament circuit.

1995-1996 :

Amélie plays small professional tournaments with $10 000 prizes. In 1995, the FFT offers her spot in the qualifying round at the French Open. Amélie is only ranked around 175th in the WTA standings, but she still manages to defeat three players in the top 120 in the world, and earns her spot in the draw. A dream come true! “My first-round match against an Italian player, Natalia Baudone… I’ll never forget it. I walked onto the court without a care in the world, and I was winning 6-3, 6-1, but ended up losing. Even though I didn’t win, I was so happy to know that I had enough potential to challenge players of that calibre!”

The next year, Amélie’s streak continues and she discovers Australia, a continent that she takes a liking to right away, even though she still cannot imagine the moments of greatness she will live in Australia only a few years down the road. By the end of the year, Amélie is World Junior Champion thanks to wins at the French Open and Wimbledon.

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