Is there Life after Tennis?

While new personalities appear on the tennis courts every year to be analyzed and dissected, Yannick Noah, at age 47 is a refreshing sign that yes, there is not only life after tennis, but a totally different kind of life. He’s still a superstar, but on a different playing field – the concert stage.

This June, from June 4th to June 10th, he’ll be performing at the Zenith in Paris. His latest album Charango, released last fall has sold over a half million copies already.

In a sport that seems rife with personal scandal, its share of victims and prima donas, it’s nice to see a success story, not to mention a family success story (Yannick Noah’s son Joakim Noah will be going pro this fall in US basketball). Meanwhile Joakim’s dad, Yannick is rockin’. Consider the fact that Yannick Noah will be performing almost 150 concerts just in France this year. Plans are in the works to cut an album with songs in English. Noah maintains an apartment in New York and spends much of his time living outside of France, dividing his time between New York, Montreux and Geneva.

In a recent interview which appeared in Le Parisien (may 25th) (Propos recueillis by Emmanuel Marolle), Noah responds to some of the questions regarding scandals in the tennis community:
“The top players – we’ve all had problems with our parents. If everything’s going smoothly, you don’t find kids spending four hours-a-day playing tennis.”