Jean-Paul Loth commentated on his last tennis match on television on Sunday, during the final of the Paris Olympic Games. Aged 85, the Frenchman thus puts an end to a very full professional life.
First a tennis player (he played the first round of Roland-Garros in doubles, and the last round of qualifying in singles), he then became federal coach of juniors at the French Tennis Federation (1968-1977), then National Technical Director (1977-1989) and Davis Cup captain (1980-1987). At the same time, he was a sports commentator for the TF1 channel (1981-1988), France Télévions (1988, 2004) and then Eurosport (2013-2024). Over the years, he has become, in addition to a recognized and respected expert, one of the “voices of tennis” in France.
He had set himself the goal of ending his career at 85, and he is delighted to have been able to finish by commentating on the Olympic Games, which he considers the most important tennis tournament. Also delighted to have been able to witness the advent of the man he considers to play tennis “better than anyone has ever played”, ahead of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic: Carlos Alcaraz. This is what he explained to our colleagues at L’Equipe.
Jean-Paul Loth: “It’s nice to be able to conclude on the biggest sporting event in the world. Nothing surpasses the Olympic Games because of their universality! Even if some tennis naysayers suggest that the Grand Slams are above.
And there is another reason. People have been so inflated by saying that after the fantastic four, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, tennis would have a terribly hard time recovering…
Well, he got back on his feet in a year and a half thanks to the arrival of this little guy (Carlos Alcaraz), who has already settled the score with everyone. Whether he wins 15, 20 or 40 Grand Slams, I don’t care. I have experienced the advent of a player who plays better than anyone has ever played.”
