To help today’s talents become tomorrow’s champions
Since its creation 10 years ago by Patrick Mouratoglou, world-renowned tennis coach and owner of the Mouratoglou Academy, the foundation helped many young talents to fulfill their potential and achieve their dreams. Alumni of the foundation include 2021 Roland-Garros and 2023 Australian Open runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas,2022 Roland-Garros finalist and 2023 US Open winner Coco Gauff and Denmark’s hope Holger Rune who entered the top 10 at the end of 2022.
Today, it continues to help the next generation of players: the youngest Fruhvirtova sister Brenda Fruhvirtova, who is widely considered the top player in her age category (2007) and the biggest hope of the WTA tour; sensational Ksenia Efremova, who is already achieving outstanding results with just 14 years of age; Thijs Boogaard, who won 6 consecutive Junior ITF titles and became the youngest player to win a Junior ITF J300; Clervie Ngounoue, who won the girls’ doubles titles at the 2022 Australian Open and at the 2023 French Open as well as the girls’ singles title at the 2023 Wimbledon; Michaela Laki, who won a Billie Jean King Cup match for Greece at age 17 and who is now working her way to the professional tour one milestone at a time.
At all levels, Champ’seed players have shown their qualities in the world of tennis with tremendous results in the most prestigious tournaments. The foundation helps to make a difference in their future and present careers thanks to the support of our generous contributors and the participation of public figures from around the world.
The future is now.
THE BOARD
Patrick Mouratoglou
Founder & President of the Champ'seed Foundation
(under the aegis of Fondation de Luxembourg)
President of the Mouratoglou Academy
Holger Rune's coach and former long time coach of Serena Williams
TV & Press consultant
Pierre Benichou
Partner Managing Director at Goldman Sachs (New York)
Competitor & Tennis Passionate
Tonika Hirdman
Director General at Fondation de Luxembourg
Anne Kremer
Former professional tennis player (1999-2014)
Former WTA n°18
COO CK Sport & Fitness (Luxembourg)
THE SELECTION COMITTEE
The committee is formed of 6 experienced members whose mission it is to select candidates eligible for the support provided by the foundation.
Patrick Mouratoglou
Holger Rune's coach and former long-time coach of Serena Williams
President of the Mouratoglou Academy
Mathis Di Maio
Technical Coordinator of Champ'seed Foundation
Tennis coach and former high-level French tennis player
FRÉDÉRIC LEFEBVRE
Fitness Department Director at Mouratoglou Academy
Fitness coach of Holger Rune
Jérémy Chardy
Tennis coach and former professional tennis player
Stéphanie Testard
Former Professional Tennis Player
Tennis & School Manager at Mouratoglou Academy
Laurent Rizzo
Former Professionnal Tennis Player
Former Agent for Octagon Agency
Current Wealth Management Advisor
TECHNICAL COORDINATOR
Mathis Di Maio
MissionsBorn on November 23rd, 1992, Mathis is a tennis coach and a former high-level French tennis player.
Beginning tennis at the age of 12, he quickly rose through the ranks thanks to his tenacity, his rigor and his love for the sport. He played many national and international tournaments before putting an end to it to devote himself to coaching.
Having worked since 2015 at the Mouratoglou Academy, Mathis quickly gained the trust of Patrick Mouratoglou and became involved in the Champ’seed Foundation as a coach. Over the past years, he helped and trained Champ'seed players such as Holger Rune, Jason Tseng, Lennon Jones, Linda and Brenda Fruhvirtova, Clervie Ngounoue and Michaela Laki. Since 2021, he has been and remains to this day coach consultant of Thijs Boogaard.
Mathis loves getting involved with players and their individual coaches, both on and off the court, to help them perform at their best. He is thrilled to take on this new role at Champ’seed.
In his role, Mathis is responsible for identifying candidates eligible for the support provided by the Champ’seed Foundation and forwarding the files to the selection committee for review and validation.
BOARD OF JUNIOR FUNDING PROGRAM
Aymeric Ferrier
President of Junior Funding Program
Daily Player Services at Mouratoglou Academy
Maryline Mertz
Treasurer of Junior Funding Program
Managing Director at Goldman Sachs (London)
Competitor & Tennis Passionate
Pierre Manessian
Secretary of Junior Funding Program
Associate Director at Osmium Consulting
Tennis aficionado
MODUS OPERANDI
The members of the Selection Committee are:
- Patrick Mouratoglou
- Mathis Di Maio
- Frédéric Lefebvre
- Jérémy Chardy
- Stéphanie Testard
- Laurent Rizzo
The proposed grants will be submitted to the Management Committee by a member of the panel of experts by any means of communication including by email. If one of the Board members disagrees on a grant proposed, he or she will be able to convene an extraordinary meeting of the Management Committee where the final decision to allocate the grant will be taken.
A non-profit organization under the law of 1901 was set-up in France under the name Junior Funding Program to manage the administration of the grants. Once the decision is made on who to allocate the grants to, the Fondation de Luxembourg will proceed to the payment of such grants to the non-profit organization which will subsequently distribute the grants to the beneficiaries’ service providers.
The following criteria regarding the selection of the candidates have been ratified by the Management Committee:
- Player’s potential: This criterion is critical, aside from the other criteria
- Age: Between 10 and 22 years old
- Ranking: Be among the 5 to 10 best players in their country for their age category. This criterion will be assessed by taking into consideration the level and the size of the country.
- Financial needs and means: The training and travel expenses will be assessed according to the candidate’s family’s financial situation