The unseeded Mauresmo reached the
Australian Open final in 1999 with wins over three seeded players, including world No. 1,
Lindsay Davenport, before falling to world No. 2,
Martina Hingis. Mauresmo was only the second Frenchwoman ever to reach the Australian Open final; (
Mary Pierce was the first, winning the championship in 1995). She was only the third Frenchwoman to reach any
Grand Slam final during the
Open Era. Mauresmo defeated Hingis later in the year, en route to the final of the
Paris indoor event. After the defeat of Davenport at the
Australian Open, Mauresmo, 19 at the time,
came out as
gay to the international press. She "attributed her success on the court to coming to terms with her sexuality and finding love." Mauresmo had, at the Australian Open earlier in the year, become the first player to defeat the Serb in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, winning in straight sets also in the third round. At the
US Open, Mauresmo lost in the quarterfinals to Mary Pierce, in straight sets. That followed a semifinal loss to
Lindsay Davenport at
Wimbledon. Mauresmo claimed her first singles title at the
WTA Tour Championships. She defeated Pierce in the final after losing to Pierce in a round-robin match at that tournament, in three sets.
2006: Two Grand Slam titles, back to No. 1 At the
Australian Open, Mauresmo captured her first Grand Slam singles title, defeating Belgian former world No. 1 players, Kim Clijsters and Justine Henin, en route. Both opponents retired from their respective matches, Clijsters with a right ankle sprain in the third set of their semifinal and Henin from
gastroenteritis in the final. Mauresmo was leading in both matches at the time of the retirements, by 6–1, 2–0 against Henin. Mauresmo then won her next two tournaments, the
Open Gaz de France tournament in Paris (defeating Mary Pierce in the final) and the
Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Belgium (defeating Clijsters in the final). At the
Qatar Open in Doha, Mauresmo defeated Martina Hingis in a semifinal, 6–2, 6–2, but lost to
Nadia Petrova in the final. Had she won the final, she would have immediately regained the world No. 1 ranking from Clijsters. Nonetheless, the outcome was sufficient to ensure Mauresmo's return to the world number-one ranking on 20 March 2006. Mauresmo then reached the semifinals of the
Miami Open in Key Biscayne, Florida, where she lost to the eventual champion
Svetlana Kuznetsova. Mauresmo lost in the fourth round of the
French Open to Czech teenager
Nicole Vaidišová, 6–7, 6–1, 6–2. Mauresmo next suffered a first-round loss at the
Wimbledon warm-up tournament in Eastbourne. However, Mauresmo and Kuznetsova won the doubles title there, their first as a team and Mauresmo's second overall. Mauresmo was the top seed at
Wimbledon. She defeated
Anastasia Myskina in a quarterfinal and
Maria Sharapova in a semifinal, and then came back from one set down to defeat Henin in the final 2–6, 6–3, 6–4. The victory was Mauresmo's second Grand Slam singles title and the first on grass. She was also the first Frenchwoman since
Suzanne Lenglen to win Wimbledon. She remains the most recent woman to win Wimbledon with a single-handed backhand. The
Wimbledon final was notable because it was the first and only time in the decade that neither Williams sister qualified for the final. She then pulled out of the
Fed Cup World Group I playoff tie against the
Czech Republic due to a groin injury sustained during Wimbledon. She also withdrew from the
Rogers Cup in Montreal. Her next tournament was the
Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, where she lost in the quarterfinals to Lindsay Davenport, 4–6, 5–7. At the
US Open, Mauresmo lost to Sharapova in the semifinals 0–6, 6–4, 0–6. This was the first time in the open era that a female had lost two sets at love in a US Open semifinal. Mauresmo then reached the final of the
China Open, losing to Kuznetsova. During the tournament, Mauresmo won 137 ranking points to help preserve her world no. 1 ranking and ended a nine-match losing streak to Davenport stretching back to January 2000 in Sydney. To conclude the year, Mauresmo reached the final of the
WTA Tour Championships in Madrid, losing to Henin, 4–6, 3–6. Mauresmo finished the year ranked world No. 3, behind Henin and Sharapova.
2007: Out of the top 5 Mauresmo started the year in Australia with a quarterfinal loss to
Jelena Janković at the
Sydney International. At the
Australian Open, Mauresmo lost in the fourth round to
Lucie Šafářová, 4–6, 3–6, after winning her first three matches in straight sets. Mauresmo's next tournament was the
Open Gaz de France, where she lost in the semifinals to
Nadia Petrova, 7–5, 4–6, 6–7, after Mauresmo led 4–1 in the final set and had a match point in the tiebreak. This was Mauresmo's third loss in the last four matches with Petrova. In her next tournament at the
Proximus Diamond Games in Antwerp, Mauresmo defeated Kim Clijsters in the final. This was Mauresmo's third consecutive title there, earning her the diamond-encrusted
racquet that comes with winning the title at least three times in five years. The trophy cost US$1.3 million. Mauresmo then played the
Dubai Open, where she lost to Justine Henin in the final. On 16 March 2007, Mauresmo received the
Chevalier of the
Légion d'honneur from President
Jacques Chirac. Mauresmo was scheduled to play the Miami Open but was forced to withdraw because of acute
appendicitis. She also withdrew from the
Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Florida, for the same reason. Although she had resumed training, she was not fit enough to compete at the
J & S Cup in Warsaw, Poland. At the
German Open in Berlin, Mauresmo lost in the third round to
Julia Vakulenko of Ukraine, and at the
Rome Masters, she lost in the second round to
Samantha Stosur, 7–5, 7–6, 6–7, after Mauresmo led 5–3 in the third set. Going into the
French Open, Mauresmo had played only three tournaments since the end of February. Mauresmo lost to Czech
Lucie Šafářová in the third round, 3–6, 6–7, committing eight double faults and 49 unforced errors. After losing to Henin in the final of the
International Women's Open in Eastbourne, 5–7, 7–6, 6–7, after being up 4–1 in the deciding set, defending champion Mauresmo went into
Wimbledon saying that she was ready to win another major title. However, she lost her fourth-round match against Czech teen
Nicole Vaidišová, 6–7, 6–4, 1–6. The loss dropped her to world No. 6, her first time outside the top five since November 2003. Mauresmo withdrew from the
US Open, because of a lack of fitness. She made her return to the tour at the
China Open in Beijing. However, she lost in the quarterfinals to home-crowd favourite
Peng Shuai. She then entered the
Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, where she lost to
Elena Dementieva in straight sets. At the
Kremlin Cup in Moscow, Mauresmo lost in the first round to
Vera Zvonareva. In
Zürich, Mauresmo lost in the second round to
Alona Bondarenko in three sets. Mauresmo left
Dunlop for
HEAD racquets. The partnership was to run through 2010.
2008: Shadow of the champion Her first tournament of the year was the Tier III
Australian Hardcourts in Gold Coast, where she lost in the quarterfinals to fourth-seeded
Patty Schnyder. At the
Australian Open in Melbourne, Mauresmo lost in the third round to
Casey Dellacqua, 6–3, 4–6, 4–6. At her next tournament, the Tier II
Open Gaz de France in Paris, Mauresmo lost in the quarterfinals to
Anna Chakvetadze, 6–3, 3–6, 3–6. Mauresmo played both tournaments in the Middle East. At the
Tier I Qatar Open, she lost in the second round to
Tamarine Tanasugarn, 6–7, 5–7. At the Tier II
Dubai Tennis Championships, Mauresmo reached her third quarterfinal of the year but was unable to hold off the second seed and eventual finalist Svetlana Kuznetsova, losing 1–6, 6–7. Mauresmo then lost in the third round of Tier-I events, the
Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open in Key Biscayne. On
clay at the
Bausch & Lomb Championships in Amelia Island, Mauresmo lost in the quarterfinals to eventual runner-up
Dominika Cibulková. At the French Open, Mauresmo lost in the second round to Spanish qualifier
Carla Suárez Navarro, 3–6, 4–6. At the Eastbourne International, Mauresmo defeated sixth-seeded French woman
Alizé Cornet in the first round, 6–1, 4–6, 7–5, but lost in the second round after retiring due to injury from her match with Sam Stosur while Mauresmo was leading 2–1. At Wimbledon, Mauresmo lost in the third round to two-time former champion Serena Williams, 6–7, 1–6. Hampered by a thigh injury, Mauresmo trailed 5–0 in the second set before breaking Williams's serve, only to be broken herself in the next game and lose the match. Mauresmo said after the match, "I was not 100% in my movement but overall I thought there were some good moments in the first set. But I really started to feel the injury in the tiebreak, and I'm not going to talk about the second set." Mauresmo declined the nomination by the
French Tennis Federation to play in the
Olympic Games after Mary Pierce withdrew.
Pauline Parmentier was then nominated. Mauresmo, after a two-month hiatus from tennis due to a thigh injury sustained at Wimbledon, lost in the semifinals of the
Cincinnati Open to
Nathalie Dechy, 4–6, 6–3, 2–6. After the match, Mauresmo, sounding optimistic about her chances at the upcoming US Open, said "I got four matches in this week, which is what I was looking for. It would have been great to play five but I'll go to
New Haven (Connecticut) hoping to find a little more rhythm and build-up to the US Open." Mauresmo then lost in the semifinals of the Pilot Pen Tennis tournament (in New Haven) to top-seeded Chakvetadze 3–6, 6–3, 1–6. At the US Open, Mauresmo lost in the fourth round to 16th-seeded
Flavia Pennetta 3–6, 0–6. On 29 September, Mauresmo announced that she would split from her long-time coach,
Loïc Courteau. Mauresmo lost in the first round at Tokyo and Beijing, both times in long three-set defeats by Dominika Cibulková. She reached the second round in Moscow, falling to
Dinara Safina, 7–6, 4–6, 4–6, and fell in the first round at Zurich to Belarusian teenager
Victoria Azarenka. She ended her year with a quarterfinal result at Luxembourg, losing to eventual champion
Elena Dementieva. Mauresmo ended the year ranked world No. 24, with a singles record of 32–19.
2009: Final year and retirement At the
Brisbane International tournament, Mauresmo defeated world no. 177
Jelena Dokić in the first round, 7–6, 7–6, before defeating French compatriot
Julie Coin in the second round, 5–7, 6–2, 7–6 in 3 hours, 14 minutes. The fifth-seeded Mauresmo then defeated top-seeded Ana Ivanovic in the quarterfinals, before retiring in her semifinal match against third-seeded
Marion Bartoli, while trailing 0–4 in the first set. At the
Australian Open, Mauresmo lost in the third round to Victoria Azarenka. Mauresmo won her first tournament since 2007 by defeating Elena Dementieva in the final of the
Open Gaz de France tournament in Paris. Mauresmo lost in the third round of the
Indian Wells Open in California, the first
Premier Mandatory event of the year, to
Li Na, 5–7, 2–6. The next event on the
WTA Tour was another Premier Mandatory tournament at
Key Biscayne. Mauresmo was seeded 20th there and lost in the fourth round to unseeded Sam Stosur, 4–6, 4–6, but ended up winning the doubles event with her tennis partner Svetlana Kuznetsova, after ousting the world champions on their way to the cup. At the
Madrid Masters, Mauresmo defeated
Zheng Jie in the second round, 6–2, 7–5. She then came from behind to defeat Elena Dementieva, 1–6, 6–4, 6–2, and
Ágnes Szávay, 5–7, 6–1, 6–1, in the third round and quarterfinal respectively. She lost against fast-rising teenager star
Caroline Wozniacki, 6–7, 3–6, in the semifinals. Mauresmo lost against
Anna-Lena Grönefeld, 4–6, 3–6, in the first round of the
French Open. Mauresmo was the 17th seed at the
2009 Wimbledon Championships. She opened with a 6–1, 4–6, 6–2 win over
Melinda Czink. She then defeated
Kristína Kučová and
Flavia Pennetta. Her fourth-round match against the first seed Dinara Safina became a part of tennis history as it was the first competitive match in which the new, multimillion-pound roof closed due to rain. Mauresmo went on to lose the match, 6–4, 3–6, 4–6. At the
2009 US Open, Mauresmo was the 17th seed but lost to unseeded
Aleksandra Wozniak, 4–6, 0–6, in the second round. Mauresmo announced at a press conference on 8 October 2009 that she was considering retiring from tennis. On 3 December 2009, she officially announced her retirement at a press conference in Paris. She ended her career ranked world No. 21. ==Coaching career==