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Hello eveyone,
Sunday 25th May 2025. It's a beautiful day in Paris, but it's not the sky that's shining the brightest. It's the clay courts of Philippe Chatrier, ready to write one of the most vibrant chapters in the history of the French Open.
Rafael Nadal – Standing ovation
It's a tribute, a promise, a celebration of sport at its most human.
18h07. The silence. Then the door opens. Rafael Nadal enters the court. He's no longer just a champion. He's a sacred figure. A 14-time winner here, 112 victories, a living legend who may be coming here for the last time. And everyone knows it.
The standing ovation is immense, in keeping with this exceptional man.
The match becomes secondary. Every point is an emotion, every drop a memory, every look a page of history. At Roland Garros, Nadal is not a guest: he is at home.
Thank you, Rafa. You didn't just win here. You've transformed this land, given it a face, a breath, a heart.
Loïs Boisson – The tricolour heart that makes Paris beat
And while the legends paid tribute to the past, France's youth was there.
On court 7 that day, Loïs Boisson, 22, was playing the match of her life. Invited as a wild card, she took on Elise Mertens, seeded 24. She didn't waver and won in front of a standing-room-only crowd, won over by her energy, her looseness and her French nerve. She became the first French wild card to reach the first round of the main draw in over 10 years. A promise? No. A signal. French women's tennis has a new ambassador. But the hardest part is yet to come... Go Loïs!
Coco Gauff – A queen on clay
A few days later, Coco Gauff faced Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Trailing, dominated, she came back, overturned and won: 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.
At the age of 21, she joined Serena Williams in the exclusive club of Americans to have won a title in Paris. A style, a maturity, a quiet strength. The world's next generation is here, with personality and charisma. Two champions who are not going to stop there, Wimbledon is coming. Thank you.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner – The match of the century
The men's final will go down in history at Roland Garros after 5 hours 29 minutes of battle. Carlos Alcaraz saved three match points, upset Jannik Sinner and won one of the greatest duels of all time. 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. A masterclass in resilience, explosiveness and perseverance.
We've had some crazy matches at Roland Garros, thank you Rafa, but what a final, what emotions with these two champions! The match was over when Jannik Sinner had three match points on Carlos Alcaraz's serve in the fourth set, and then everything shifted into another dimension.
Carlos Alcaraz, aged 22, has definitively established himself as the natural successor to the giants.
And PSG as luxury guest stars
And as if Paris wanted to start the day on a high, PSG arrived at Central with their newly won Champions League trophy. Ousmane Dembélé, Nuno Mendes and others brandished the cup to the ovations of a stadium in fusion. Tennis and football join hands. Paris is jubilant.
This Sunday, the clay court spoke all languages: past, present and future
• Nadal, the living myth
• Gauff, the modern champion
• Alcaraz, the warrior of the future
• Boisson, the tricolour surprise that woke up an entire country
See you soon
Henri
RTL, Henri Leconte presentation
RTL, Rafa Nadal
RTL, the boxes
RTL, foot - tennis
RTL, Djokovic / Sinner
Article 24h.ch
Interview 24h.ch
Le Parisien
Official website
Find the latest interviews with Henri Leconte below:
An exceptional event to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Gonet Geneva Open! Marina Hingis, Ana Ivanovic, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Henri Leconte will be playing an exhibition match that promises to be spectacular on the Parc des Eaux-Vives Centre Court.
Schedule
Henri Leconte will be taking part in the exhibition match that kicks off the 16th BNP Paribas Primrose tournament.
He will be playing alongside Mats Wilander, Michaël Llodra, Nicolas Escudé and Marc Gicquel. We look forward to some great moments!
Official website
Henri Leconte is the patron of the 3rd Homécourt Salon du livre. The programme includes meetings with the public, presentations and book signings for « Balles neuves ».
Press coverage
Henri Leconte will be coming to the Résidence Services Seniors les Jardins d'Arcadie to present, discuss and sign his book « Balles neuves » on 24 April.
For full details, click on the link below:
Jardins d'Arcadie
On Saturday 12 April 2025, the Chapitre des Tulipes welcomed prima ballerina Aurélie Dupont, cycling champion Joop Zoetemelk, singer Dave and Henri Leconte.
Alexandra Bouvret and chef Jeff Schurr have joined forces to bring you a unique moment where gastronomy, history and wine meet.
"We had a wonderful time at the Château du Clos de Vougeot, a magical place, surrounded by Aurélie Dupont, Joop Zoetemelk and Dave..
It was an honour for me to be inducted thanks to my two patrons: Benoît Charbonnaud and Bertrand Bignon, and to have shared this event with Maya.
Thank you Arnaud Orsel, Eric Piffaut and all of you."
Le Bien Public
Exclusive pics (photos credit Château du Clos de Vougeot --> Bénédicte Manière)
Henri Leconte and Maya will be in Saumur for a great weekend at the beginning of April. They have been invited to the 29èmes journées nationales du livre et du vin.
"An extraordinary weekend in Saumur! Maya gave a talk on "introspection and the quest for meaning to help you cope with life's challenges", featuring four authors: Line Papin, Florence Belkacem, Sandrine Chenivesse and Laurent Soler. I also presented my book with Jérémy Côme on a boat!
Thank you all for your welcome, your generosity and your kindness. Well done for this exceptional programme that you have offered us."
Exclusive pics
Official website
Last Friday was the first "Set and Lunch by CBTW" of the new year for Henri and his guests.
"Thank you so much for taking part in this first "Set and Lunch by CBTW" 2025."
Henri Leconte was invited to Arcachon to diner des décideurs du Bassin to present his book « Balles neuves ». It was in a magnificent setting that he was able to share some wonderful moments.
"Thank you Laurence and Hervé Lassalas as well as Arcachon le Club for your welcome and your generosity during this evening. I really enjoyed talking to you all."
Hello eveyone,
The Australian Open has just finished, and once again the organisers have proved that they are capable of surprising us with new perspectives. A number of changes were made this year: the coachings' boxes was placed on the main courts so that coaches could communicate better with their players.
This Open has shown us that we can count on both experience and youth.
The experience, with a fantastic Gaël Monfils who showed us fabulous, fantastic tennis with incredible lucidity. What a joy to watch! He radiates a sense of fulfilment, no doubt due to the fact that he is a father. Well done to him and his wife Elina Svitolina, the happy parents, who have had a wonderful run.
Novak Djokovic also has a wealth of experience, having reached the semi-finals for the 50th time in a Grand Slam!
But this Australian Open has left its mark on us through the generosity and kind gestures shown in the two finals.
What a women's final! What intensity from these two hard-hitters! Well done to Madison Keys, who had been waiting for this moment after losing in the US Open final seven years earlier. Resilience, fight, humility, and what a smile after that last point! It felt great.
Well done to Aryna Sabalenka who, with humour and emotion, gave an amusing speech in praise of Madison.
In the men's competition, Alexander Zverev lost to a stronger opponent. He remains a warrior. Will he find the solution?
And last but not least, the young Jannik Sinner. It was certainly a one-way final with the Italian dominating his subject. It's fair to say that he's walking on water at the moment. Are we going to see an incredible year from him? Will he complete the Grand Slam in one year? What do you think?
In these difficult times, thank you for showing us the true values of respect, courtesy, compassion, humility and courage. Thank you for loving your sport and sharing it with us. We can only bow our heads in admiration of these wonderful moments.
See you soon,
Henri
Happy 2025 to you all! A year that will be a little less busy in sporting terms than 2024, as we will no longer be hosting the Olympic Games, but which promises to be just as exciting.
Everyone heads to Australia to prepare for the Australian Open.
In the women's competition, the big favourite will be defending champion Aryna Sabalenka. Who will come out on top? Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini...?
In the men's competition, the field is fairly open, although Jannik Sinner (defending champion) appears to be on top at the moment.
We'll be keeping a close eye on Novak Djokovic as he seeks his 10th Australian Open and 25th Grand Slam! Will he be ready yet, having not played for over two months? Long 5-set matches are likely to be complicated for him, especially against young players like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.
On the French side, there could be some pleasant surprises in store, as our French players often achieve good results under the Australian sun. Gaël Monfils won the Auckland tournament, 20 years after he had already won it, Alexandre Müller won the Hong Kong tournament and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard reached the semi-finals in Brisbane. Go French!
Henri will be doing lives on Instagram and will be reporting on the highlights of the fortnight in his column #lavisdhenriaussie, which can be found on his various social networks (link on the home page).
Enjoy your tournament!
Official website
