Team Europe captain Yannick Noah is part showman, part philosopher, part ambassador and a full-time personality.
Laver Cup 2025: Team Europe captain is the latest step in Yannick Noah's fascinating tennis journey originally appeared on The Sporting News
SAN FRANCISCO – Yannik Noah is fond of saying every tennis player’s journey is different.
No one’s is quite as different as his.
Noah, 65, is the captain of Team Europe at this year’s Laver Cup, taking the reins from Swedish legend Bjorn Borg. He is trying to guide his six-man team past Andre Agassi’s Team World and bring the Laver Cup back to Europe for the sixth time in eight years.
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Born in Sedan, France, he moved back to his father’s native Cameroon for most of his childhood. At age 11, he borrowed a tennis racquet to attend a clinic put on by Arthur Ashe. His skills and potential were quickly recognized, and he moved to France to attend an academy at Roland Garros.
Eventually, his career earned him an induction into the Hall of Fame, reaching a career-high rank of No. 3 in 1986. His lasting accomplishment was winning the French Open in 1983, the only Frenchman to win on native soil since 1946.
He famously hugged his father in the aftermath, and he reflected on it this week at a Laver Cup charity event.
“I hugged my dad and (was) crying (from) joy,” Noah said. “It doesn't happen. In your dad's arms when you're 23, usually you cry of sadness, right? So it just happened. And the crazy thing was, it was on TV. So people keep reminding me about that, because it touched them too.”
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After retiring from tennis, Noah went on to a hugely successful career as a pop singer in Europe, releasing eight albums and attracting big crowds for live performances.
“People don't realize he had the most incredible tennis career, where he was the last Frenchman to win the French Open. And he also sold out Stade de France being a pop star. There's very few people in this world that get a chance to do that,” said Laver Cup chairman Tony Godsick. “His personality, his knowledge, is amazing.”
Noah has been a very successful national coach for France, winning both the Davis Cup (three times) and the Federation Cup (now Billie Jean King Cup) for France.
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, the unofficial player captain of Team Europe, was asked what he has learned about Noah this week at the team press conference. Sitting next to Alcaraz, Noah leaned over and said, “You need to be nice, or I won’t play you.”
Alcaraz laughed, then followed Noah’s instructions.
“The first time that I met him was last year at the Laver Cup,” Alcaraz said. “It was nice. And then the days that I’ve been here, he has a great, great energy. He is funny as well. He's telling good histories, which was great. It's great to have that good vibes, good energy before the practices, before the matches. We have a really good team, and he is going to guide us in the best way.”
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Noah is part showman, part philosopher, part ambassador and a full-time personality. He thoroughly enjoyed hitting with youth players along with Roger Federer at a San Francisco park on Tuesday. He played with reporters during his media sessions, saying he was thankful only for not getting fired yet. He emphasized the need to play with joy, to understand tennis is a show, and yes, everyone’s journey is different.
“Tennis players, we have our own journeys, our own religion, our own traditions, we come from different places, and then what connects us is tennis,” Noah said. “When push comes to shove, everybody is different, so you want to listen.
"We're playing to please people. We're playing to make people happy. When you win a match, you don't look at your shoes; you look at the people. You don't know them, but they're happy.
"This is how good you are. You have this opportunity to make people happy. This is what it's all about.”
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Category: Tennis
