Thirty-year-old Amélie Mauresmo announced this morning she is officially putting an end to her tennis career. Some tears were shed by the most famous French tennis star when she made the announcement at a press conference.
Tennis became her passion while watching French tennis player Yannick Noah when she was only 4. She became a professional player in the mid-90s . Her biggest wins were Wimbledon and the Australian Open in 2006. Her only regret : not winning the French open ever!
She will also be remembered as the first French athlete to reveal her homosexuality while still on the courts.
Jackie Grandchamps obtained her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology in Belgium, and then moved to the U.S. in 1995 to conduct cancer research at Stanford University in California. Her heart has always been in travel however, and she turned her passion into a full time job in 2003 when she launched her travel business, French Escapade offering an authentic travel experience to women.
She says, “I wanted to make my dream come true: sharing my love of traveling and giving people the opportunity to really experience a different culture. Instead of the traditional ‘tourist’ sightseeing trip to France, I wanted to immerse very small groups of women in the culture, let them meet locals, eat authentic cuisine and ‘live’ an authentic experience. That’s how French Escapade was born.”
