"Don't care about gender"- Choosing Andy Murray's ex-coach Amelie Mauresmo was "right," says Lucas Pouille; Frenchman hopes for more women on ATP Tour

French tennis player Lucas Pouille recently addressed the lack of women coaches on the ATP Tour. He also spoke about his partnership with Andy Murray’s ex-coach, Amelie Mauresmo.

Pouille is one of the very few men’s tennis players who have worked with a female coach. The 30-year-old hired his compatriot, Amelie Mauresmo, in 2019 after splitting from his long-time coach, Emmanuel Planque. Mauresmo, who presently serves as the French Open director, coached Pouille through 2020.

Interestingly, just days into his collaboration with the two-time Grand Slam champion, Lucas Pouille earned his best Grand Slam result, reaching the semifinals of the 2019 Australian Open. Here, he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

The Frenchman recently spoke about his decision to work with a female coach in an exclusive for CLAY. He also said that Mauresmo was the “right person” for him.

"I don't know why it's not common, for me it doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman. It's only about knowledge, and for me, Amelie was the right person at that time," he said.

"She brought something extra to my tennis. I don't care about the gender of the members of my work team. I just want people who are able to bring me good things to my game, to my career, positive energy and positive mindset. A winning mindset. Amelie had everything, so for me she was definitely the right coach," he added.

Amelie Mauresmo famously coached Andy Murray from 2014 to 2016. Under her tutelage, the former World No. 1 won two Masters 1000 titles in Madrid and Montreal (2015). The French coach also guided Marion Bartoli to her solitary Wimbledon title in 2013.

"Maybe we'll see more and more women coming soon," Pouille said, addressing the lack of women on the ATP Tour.

He also noted that while male coaches have no trouble finding opportunities on the WTA circuit, the same is not the case with female coaches. Andy Murray, too, previously raised his concerns about the issue prevalent on both tours.

"But it's true that on the opposite way doesn't happen like that. In the WTA Tour there are a lot of men coaching women, but not a lot of women coaching men, so maybe that will change," he said.

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Lucas Pouille shares whether he would encourage colleagues to hire female coaches similar to his and Andy Murray's collaboration with Amelie Mauresmo

Andy Murray's ex-coach Amelie Mauresmo pictured at Lucas Pouille's French Open 2019 match - Image Source: Getty

In the aforementioned interview, Lucas Pouille was asked whether he would recommend hiring female coaches to his colleagues, like his and Andy Murray's partnership with Amelie Mauresmo. In response, the Frenchman emphasized the importance of being surrounded by the “right people,” whether male or female.

"I'd encourage players and young players to be surrounded by the right people, and if the right people is a woman, then you have to choose a woman, and that's it," Lucas Pouille said.

"You know, you can pick a male coach or fitness trainer and they could be very bad; you can choose a lady to be your manager, she maybe work well or maybe not.

"One woman could be a great mental coach, a guy might be a good massage therapist… males and females are the same, so I just advise the young generation to be surrounded by the right people, because it's important," the former World No. 10 continued.

Pouille, who is presently ranked No. 96 in singles, has won an impressive five tour-level titles in his career so far. He recently reached a hattrick of Challenger finals, winning one title at the Mouilleron le Captif event.