Philippe Chatrier
Philippe Chatrier (2 February 1926 - 22 June 2000) was a French tennis player. After his playing career ended, he became a journalist, and was then involved in sports administration. He was president of the French Tennis Federation for 20 years, from 1973 to 1993, and president of the International Tennis Federation for 14 years, from 1977 to 1991.
Chatrier was born in Cretell in France. He was the French junior tennis champion in 1945. He was a member of the French Davis Cup team from 1948 and 1950. He last played a Wimbledon in 1953, and then became a journalist. He founded the magazine Tennis de France in 1953. He was also sports and news editor for the Paris daily newspaper Paris-Presse.
He married Susan Partridge, who was French tennis champion in 1953. They later divorced, and he remarried French golfer, Claudine Cros.
He took part in the merger of professional and amateur tennis organisations in 1968. He was a vice-president of the French Tennis Federation (Fédération française de tennis) from 1968 to 1973, and was captain of French Davis Cup team in 1969. He became president of the French Tennis Federation in 1973, then president of International Tennis Federation in 1977. Under his direction, tennis was reintroduced to the Olympic program in 1981, as a demonstration sport at the 1984 Summer Olympic Games in Los Angeles, and then a full Olympic sport from the 1988 Summer Olympic Games in Seoul. He became a member of the International Olympic Committee in 1988.
He retired as president from the International Tennis Federation in 1991. He became a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1992. He retired as president of the French Tennis Federation in 1993.
He died in Dinard. The main tennis court at the Stade de Roland Garros, the home of the French Open in Paris, was renamed the Court Philippe Chatrier in his honour in 2001.
He had two sons from his first marriage. The elder, Jean-Philippe Chatrier, is an actor.
References
- Obituary, The Independent, 24 June 2000
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