Arthur Rinderknech managed to qualify for the second round of Roland-Garros. When he’s not shining on the court, the French tennis player spends happy days in Brittany… after being exiled in Texas for several years!
Arthur Rinderknech has come a long way… in every sense of the word! If the French tennis player sometimes had moments of doubt in his career, he managed to beat the Austrian Jurij Rodionov in 3 sets and therefore qualified for the second round of Roland-Garros, under the gaze of many stars, despite the sweltering heat on the court. But did you know that this native of Var had become Breton by adoption after living in Texas?
Arthur Rinderknech, why he moved to Texas: “Putting financial pressure on my parents…”
Arthur Rinderknech became a professional tennis player relatively late and preferred to follow a more traditional course of study before starting out. “I was a good player in junior, but not good enough. I was between 5 and 10 French people my age, not higher, so I didn’t necessarily have a lot of help getting started on the circuit“, he explained on the set of France 2 opposite Laurent Luyat.
The sportsman had, moreover, “not the desire“to become professional at such a young age.”It would have been too complicated for me to leave every week far from my family, my friends, put financial pressure on my parents to invest and finance this expensive career.“, he added. At 18, the Frenchman, who grew up in Val-de-Marne and Yvelines, therefore decided to leave the country to settle in Texas, in the United States, where he studied at A&M University.
“I was lucky to find a great university in Texas that allowed me to continue my tennis, train like a pro, without playing the circuit, but continue my studies too, because we know how difficult it is to make a living in tennis.“, he detailed. The tennis enthusiast was able to “secure“his degree in commerce at age 22, but he had hardly lost his appetite for the sport and had progressed during his years of study in Texas:”I thought maybe it was time for me to take a chance“.
Arthur Rinderknech, based in Brittany: “The place where we like”
Now, the player, ranked 25th in the ATP rankings, has lived in Brittany for several years. “I was looking for a private trainer and I was lucky to find Sébastien Villette who lived there. I wasn’t afraid to move and leave the Parisian suburbs, after living in the United States“, he explained to West France.
His wife, Hortense Boscher, is originally from Brittany and members of her family live in Côtes d’Armor. “She followed me and that allowed us to have a good balance. We live there, we are happy there. And even though I’m no longer with this coach, it’s the place where we really enjoy ourselves. We enjoy all the advantages of Brittany“, concluded the 30-year-old athlete, happy on the court as well as in the city.
