Nathalie Tauziat Former French professional tennis player Date of Birth: 17.10.1967 Country: France

Biography of Nathalie Tauziat

Nathalie Tauziat was a former French professional tennis player and the winner of the Federation Cup as a member of the French team in 1997. She was born in the Central African Republic and her family moved to France when she was eight years old. Tauziat's first tennis coach was journalist Xavier d'O; at the age of 13, she began training with Régis de Camaret.

In 1985, Tauziat played her first matches for the French team in the Federation Cup. She won her first professional tournament in San Antonio in 1985, partnering with fellow French player Isabelle Demongeot, under the auspices of the International Tennis Federation (ITF). Tauziat and Demongeot remained doubles partners for several years, winning four Women's Tennis Association (WTA) tournaments between 1987 and 1989. They also reached two finals and reached the quarterfinals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, where they were defeated by future champions Zina Garrison and Pam Shriver. They paired again four years later at the Barcelona Olympics, reaching the quarterfinals and losing to eventual runners-up Arantxa Sánchez Vicario and Conchita Martínez.

Tauziat won her first ITF singles tournament in Limoges in 1987 and her first WTA singles tournament in Bayonne, France in 1990. By early 1988, she was already ranked among the top 20 singles players in the world. During the year, she achieved her first victory over a top-ten player, Natalia Zvereva, on her way to the final of the New Jersey tournament, where she lost to Steffi Graf for the fourth time that season. In 1990, Tauziat reached her first Grand Slam doubles semifinal at the French Open, partnering with Judith Wiesner. She repeated this result at the French Open four more times. The following year, she reached the quarterfinals in singles at the French Open, losing to Graf. At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Tauziat was seeded tenth in singles but was defeated in the second round. In the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, she was eliminated in the first round of singles and reached the second round of doubles with Mary Pierce, losing to future champions Gigi and Mary Joe Fernandez.

In 1997, after four consecutive semifinal defeats, Tauziat won the Federation Cup with the French team. She won all four of her matches from the quarterfinals onwards. In the same year, her regular doubles partner became another French player, Alexandra Fusai. In their first season together, they won two tournaments, reached four more finals, and reached the semifinals of the WTA Tour Championships, where they lost to Lindsey Davenport and Jana Novotná. In singles, Tauziat reached the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, played in three finals of lower-ranking tournaments (winning one), and reached the semifinals of the year-end tournament, defeating fourth-ranked Amanda Coetzer and sixth-ranked Iva Majoli.

In 1998, at the age of 30, Tauziat entered the top ten of the WTA singles rankings for the first time in her career after reaching the Wimbledon final. In the quarterfinals, she defeated the second-ranked player, Davenport, but lost to Novotná in the final. With Fusai, they reached the final of the year-end tournament for the second consecutive year, this time losing to Davenport and Zvereva. They won three tournaments during the season and reached three more finals. In 1999, Tauziat had success in singles, winning two tournaments, including a Tier I event in Moscow, and reaching the semifinals of the year-end tournament, where she was defeated by eventual champion Davenport. With Fusai, they won two tournaments and reached four more finals.

In February 2000, after winning the tournament in Paris, Tauziat reached her highest ranking of third in the WTA singles rankings in May of the same year. At 32 and a half years old, she became the oldest player in the Open Era to enter the top three. In the same year, she published her autobiography titled "Les Dessous du tennis féminin," which contained critical reviews of some of her teammates on the French team. As a result, she was not selected to represent France at the Sydney Olympics, which would have been her last tournament at the age of 32. The French Tennis Federation denied any connection between the decision and the publication of her autobiography, stating that the selection was based on the players' form.

In 2001, Tauziat's last year in singles, she won her final singles tournament. She also set a record at the French Open, playing in the singles event for the 18th time. In the same year, she reached the quarterfinals of the French Open, the semifinals of Wimbledon, and the final of the US Open with American player Kimberly Po. They were defeated in the semifinals of the year-end tournament by Cara Black and Elena Likhovtseva. Likhovtseva became Tauziat's last doubles partner with whom she won a WTA tournament two months earlier. Tauziat won two more tournaments that year with Arantxa Sánchez and Po. Tauziat retired from professional tennis after the 2003 French Open, where she only competed in doubles. She made one more appearance on the ITF Tour in Cannes at the age of 38 and a half.

In 2004, Nathalie Tauziat was awarded the Order of the Legion of Honor for her contribution to the development of international tennis.