Current:Home > MarketsFiona Ferro, a tennis player who accused her ex-coach of sexual assault, returned to the US Open-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
Fiona Ferro, a tennis player who accused her ex-coach of sexual assault, returned to the US Open
View Date:2024-12-23 14:16:16
NEW YORK (AP) — Shortly after losing in U.S. Open qualifying a year ago, tennis player Fiona Ferro accused her former coach, Pierre Bouteyre, of rape. That case is still pending, and Ferro took a few months off from the tour after going public with her story, but she returned to Flushing Meadows on Monday to play in the Grand Slam tournament’s main draw for the first time since 2021.
Ferro, a wild-card entry from France who lost to two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka 6-1, 6-2 in the first round, said she has not hired a new personal coach. Instead, she is working as part of a collection of about a half-dozen players with a coach from the French tennis federation, Eric Winogradsky.
“I wasn’t feeling really ready to get into a new project with a coach, 1-to-1,” Ferro said Monday. “I think I needed to be in a group with other players, because it was tough for me to be alone with only one coach.”
After her hiatus from the sport through the end of last season, Ferro began playing club matches with friends that, she explained, “made me want to play tennis again.”
“I think I really needed that break, because it was a lot things at the same time. With the case, I had to deal with some tough moments,” said the 26-year-old Ferro, who has been ranked as high as No. 39 and reached the fourth round of the 2020 French Open. “Then I started practicing at the federation again.”
The Associated Press typically does not identify people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly.
Ferro wrote on social media last year about her accusation against Bouteyre and said, “I did not consent.”
She was just one of the female tennis players who brought attention to the issue of protecting athletes from predatory coaches. The women’s tennis tour, the WTA, hired a director of safeguarding at the end of 2022, Lindsay Brandon, a lawyer whose past clients include athletes disputing doping suspensions.
“For the moment, my case is still ongoing, so I can’t really talk about it. But the (French) federation supports me in that. They provide a coach. And I feel like I can talk to them and can be understood. So for me, that’s an important point,” Ferro said.
“They’re really listening to me and, yes, I think they’re trying to do things regarding this kind of problem, because obviously it’s not just something that happened to me over the last years, but I think it also happened to other players — or maybe not in tennis, but in other sports,” she said. “So it’s something that needs to be addressed. The federation is trying to work on it.”
Ferro said she also has received support from the WTA, and from other athletes, during her legal case.
“Some players came to me (to talk in the locker room) and said that I was brave and wishing all the best to me,” Ferro said.
When their match ended in Louis Armstrong Stadium on Monday, Azarenka — a former No. 1 player seeded 18th at the U.S. Open — put a hand on Ferro’s shoulder and leaned forward to offer “some kind words” in her ear, as Ferro put it.
“She told me that she was so happy to see me back and she wished me good luck for the next tournaments,” Ferro said. “So for me, it’s so nice to hear that. It really was moving.”
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
veryGood! (31674)
Related
- 'Wanted' posters plastered around University of Rochester target Jewish faculty members
- Where do things stand with the sexual assault case involving 2018 Canada world junior players?
- Untangling the Controversy Surrounding Kyte Baby
- AP Week in Pictures: North America
- The 15 quickest pickup trucks MotorTrend has ever tested
- School choice measure will reach Kentucky’s November ballot, key lawmaker predicts
- A Missouri nursing home shut down suddenly. A new report offers insight into the ensuing confusion
- A Pennsylvania law shields teacher misconduct complaints. A judge ruled that’s unconstitutional
- Caitlin Clark has one goal for her LPGA pro-am debut: Don't hit anyone with a golf ball
- Facebook parent Meta picks Indiana for a new $800 million data center
Ranking
- Wisconsin authorities believe kayaker staged his disappearance and fled to Europe
- DNA from 10,000-year-old chewing gum sheds light on teens' Stone Age menu and oral health: It must have hurt
- Pawn Stars Host Rick Harrison’s Son Adam’s Cause of Death Revealed
- How Sofia Richie's Dad Lionel Richie and Sister Nicole Richie Reacted to Her Pregnancy
- FBI offers up to $25,000 reward for information about suspect behind Northwest ballot box fires
- Aspiring writer wins full-ride Angie Thomas scholarship to Belhaven
- Spielberg and Hanks take to the World War II skies in 'Masters of the Air'
- Senate immigration talks continue as divisions among Republicans threaten to sink deal
Recommendation
-
Mega Millions winning numbers for November 8 drawing: Jackpot rises to $361 million
-
Noah Cyrus' Steamy Kiss With Fiancé Pinkus Is Truly Haute Amour at Paris Fashion Week
-
Drew Barrymore cries after Dermot Mulroney surprises her for 'Bad Girls' reunion
-
Once in the millions, Guinea worm cases numbered 13 in 2023, Carter Center’s initial count says
-
Armie Hammer Says His Mom Gifted Him a Vasectomy for His 38th Birthday
-
Salty: Tea advice from American chemist seeking the 'perfect' cup ignites British debate
-
Losing a job in your 50s is extremely tough. Here are 3 steps to take when layoffs happen.
-
School choice measure will reach Kentucky’s November ballot, key lawmaker predicts