Paris, April 25, 2024. ” sizes=”(min-width: 1024px) 556px, 100vw” width=”664″ height=”443″/> Gilles Moretton, during a press conference presenting the 2024 edition of the Roland-Garros Grand Slam tennis tournament, at the Roland-Garros stadium complex in Paris, April 25, 2024. BERTRAND GUAY / AFP
From his past as a former player, Gilles Moretton has retained a biting sense of the counter-attack. Elected in February 2021, the former world 65th (in 1981) is seeking a second four-year term at the head of the French Tennis Federation (FFT). The vote, which pits him against the boss of the Ile-de-France league, Germain Roesch, began in September and will end during the elective general assembly on December 14.
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Zero points for the Blues at the Olympics (no quarter-finalists)? The balance sheet is in no way “catastrophic”, objects the 66-year-old manager, a term that was nevertheless bluntly delivered by the high-level director, Ivan Ljubicic, former coach of Roger Federer. “Only one player underperformed, Caroline Garcia, all the others lost against stronger players than them,” retorts to Monde Gilles Moretton, who rejected Ljubicic’s resignation.
Sportingly, the boss of the FFT prides himself on a « positive global number » at the end of his mandate, highlighting the progress of Arthur Fils (20th in the world), Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard (30th) and Gabriel Debru (269th)… “We have to give them a little time, but there is fundamental work that is being done and that is paying off,” he praised a few days before Ugo Humbert’s final at Bercy, the first by a Frenchman in Masters 1000 for eight years.
20% more licensees
Behind this high-level showcase, the outgoing president prefers to highlight, with supporting documents, the 20% of licensees gained since his arrival at the head of the body, which to date has 1,170,000 – including 66,000 exclusively at padel. “Tennis remains our backbone, the number of licensees, whose average age must be around 25, is increasing, he certifies. And I think pickleball [mélange de tennis, badminton et tennis de table] will bring us yet another population. »
Gilles Moretton initially tries to avoid angry subjects. In February, in an open letter, around a hundred FFT employees denounced their working conditions and the climate within the powerful federation (490 million euros turnover in 2024). A major social crisis calling into question its governance, as several media investigations have also revealed, including that of the Monde.
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The former player finally decides to comment on them: “There was a spark that actually triggered the crisis at the start of the year,” he admits, ensuring that he has “took it very seriously when it happened.” He separated from Caroline Flaissier, the general director, who arrived in May 2022 in place of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, then leaving for the sports ministry.
