FRENCH tennis star Ugo Humbert has made a big name for himself on the pitch.
Supporting his success and cheering him on from the stands is his girlfriend, Tessah Andrianjafitrimo, who has also achieved success on the court.
Tessah started playing tennis when she was five years old.
She made her ITF Women’s Circuit debut in September 2013 at the $25k indoor hardcourt tournament in Clermont-Ferrand, France but ultimately lost in the first qualifying round.
Between 2013 and 2014 she played in seven ITF Circuit tournaments.
She was the 2014 national girls’ champion of France in the 15–16 year-olds category.
Tessah has competed in the main draw at Roland Garros three times and reached her career-high No. 139 in 2022.
However, she was sidelined by injury since the end of last season but returned to pitch in March 2024.
Speaking about the switch from playing to coaching, she told ATPTOUR: “It was tough. It was different for sure.
“It was really different from playing because you are on the other side of the court and you have to stay really focused and really calm.
“I know how it is when you are on the court and looking at your coach and you just want to see how calm he is.
“I was really stressed and tight in my mind but I could not show him, so I had to stay really calm, even if I was tight.”
She continued: “It took me so much energy to stay calm. And when you are on the court and stressed you can move and hit harder and use energy, but when you are coaching, you just sit on the court and watch.
Now we are back together and I wanted to win a title, so I said to her, ‘OK, come back with me’ and it worked!
Ugo Humbert
“You can’t move or say anything, so it was really stressful and hard. But I loved it.
“Of course, I loved it because we won but also because you can see the game differently.
“You can feel the energy much better and how the opponent feels and how your player feels.
“For me as a player it was really good.”
The exact time of their union is unclear, but it’s believed they’ve been together since their teenage years.
However, it was reported that they broke up in 2020 when Humbert won an ATP Challenger Tour title with Andrianjafitrimo.
“I won my first Challenger with her in 2020 and after that, we broke up,” Humbert said.
“Now we are back together and I wanted to win a title, so I said to her, ‘OK, come back with me’ and it worked!
“It’s easy because she knows how to be during the match and before the match.
“She knows my routines since last year and we did it together and she understands it all completely, so it was easy. It was perfect.”
It’s unclear how the pair met.
However, given that they work in the same profession, it’s thought they run in the same circles.
They even played mixed doubles at Roland Garros in 2018.
Andrianjafitrimo was born on October 11, 1998, in Montpellier, France.
She has two younger siblings.
Her father, Teddy, was born in Madagascar and was an excellent amateur tennis player.
However, he did not become a professional player because he lacked financial support.
He immigrated to France and worked as a club coach and as his daughter’s coach.
