Last week saw Slovakia’s Dominika Cibulkova shockingly thrash the former world number one, Amelie Mauresmo, in the opening round of the China Open in Beijing. Cibulkova may be a relatively unfamiliar name to many tennis fans but, at the tender age of 19, she is ranked at number 20 in the world. Mauresmo, on the other hand, has now fallen to number 25 in the world and was defeated by the 19 year-old Slovakian in just two and a half hours.

The former Wimbledon champion, who has also been victorious in the Australian Open, was quick to play down the wider significance of this defeat, expressing her desire to “digest this one and make sure I go back on the right track for the next few tournaments”. However, considering that Cibulkova’s victory was her second over Mauresmo in just one week, following her impressive win at the Pan Pacific Open, it seems that there are deeper issues affecting the French tennis legend.

Earlier this year, Mauresmo spoke of the possibility of retiring if her poor form continued. Following her second round exit at the Qatar Open at the hands of Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugar, she expressed her frustration at playing to half-empty stands. Mauresmo’s reasons for her poor form were typically vague: “I came to this tournament wanting to do well, but there’s always a grain of sand that gets in the works and clogs things up”. Worryingly, she ended her comments by publicly questioning her “desire” to continue playing the sport.

A couple of months later, in April of this year, Mauresmo was provided with the perfect chance to prove that she still had the hunger to compete at the top level of women’s tennis. She had been forced to miss the Italian and German Opens through injury but the start of the French Open saw an apparently rejuvenated Mauresmo return to home soil.

However, Spain’s Carla Suarez-Navarro cruised past the former world number one in the second round of the tournament. Once again, Mauresmo placed the blame for her poor form on vague factors: “I don’t know what to say right now because there was nothing much on my side [...] It’s a bit difficult for me to analyse all this”.

It is easy to view injury as the key factor behind Mauresmo’s continuing decline. After all, a series of injuries, including a niggling rib injury earlier this year, has blighted an otherwise promising career. However, there is a growing trend developing in Mauresmo’s post-match comments that hints at something deeper, something which seems to transcend mere physical problems.

The player has always spoken of a general lack of confidence and, to spectators, she has always appeared less mentally strong on the court than players such as Serena Williams. Earlier this year, Mauresmo stated that she was “looking...running after this confidence a little bit”. If the former Wimbledon and Australian Open champion is to regain her form and mount a realistic challenge for another title, she must overcome these emotional issues alongside her physical ones.

Written by Charlotte Cook