Atmane: How self-belief allowed me to become a 'different person'

You never know how far your belief in someone can take them. Sometimes, it changes their life.

Such is the case for Terence Atmane, now thriving under the guidance of coach Guillaume Peyre, who has previously worked with the likes of Marcos Baghdatis and Richard Gasquet — the lefty's first-round opponent at Roland Garros, where a potential meeting with top seed Jannik Sinner looms in the second round.

Atmane’s former coach Robin Boulé, who spent five years with the 23-year-old, referred the Frenchman to Peyre, confident it would be a perfect fit. In just a short time together, it’s proven to be exactly that.

Set to compete at his home major as a wild card, Atmane has lifted two ATP Challenger Tour titles since joining forces with Peyre on a more full-time basis last month. Atmane is gleaming with confidence, and a big part of that is because of Peyre.

“When he came to me, he’s telling me, ‘Man, you’re a beast, you’re playing so good, everything’,” Atmane told ATPTour.com. “I’m like, ‘Man, if that guy thinks that about me, it means that there is something. He’s not saying that just for me to feel good. I was like, ‘Man, come on, I have to fight also for this guy on court’.”

Spanning from mid-February to April, Atmane suffered a five-match skid and had lost six of seven matches. He was searching for answers. Reflecting on his weeks spent with Peyre across last year’s Asian hard-court swing and this season’s Australian Open, Atmane picked up the phone.

“It’s a bit weird to say, but every time he’s with me, I perform,” said Atmane.

“His way of talking to me [is] making me confident, giving me a lot of energy, good vibes all the time, treating me like his own son. But also, someone who can be very tough with me really helped.”

Atmane travelled to South Korea to begin a four-week swing. Instantly, he returned to the winner’s circle, earning his biggest career title at the Challenger 125 event in Busan. Two weeks later, Atmane triumphed again, this time in Guangzhou, China.

“I think [Guillaume] did a crazy job with me because I felt completely changed after like one week,” Atmane said. “It was very difficult for me to find my rhythm, very difficult for me to play and to enjoy the game because I was constantly losing. My coach found the perfect words for me, the support that I needed.”

^{Terence Atmane with coach Guillaume Peyre. Credit: Guangzhou Nansha International Challenger}

Watch Atmane play and it’s hard to miss his free-spirited, high-risk, high-reward style. It is the kind that is sure to electrify the French crowd, which will already be buzzing when Atmane faces Gasquet, the 38-year-old who is playing his final tournament.

Atmane wears his heart on his sleeve, a trait that Peyre has helped him manage.

“I feel like two different people. I feel more like an adult, more responsible on court,” Atmane said. “I didn’t break any racquet the past six months. Last year, I broke more than 25 racquets. I felt myself completely changed and it’s only because of him. I’m really grateful to have him every day with me. I’m going to try and keep this as much as possible.”

So how has Atmane made such a drastic change mentally?

“It’s just realising that I was putting so much pressure on myself, even before starting the match when I was coming on court, I was already very tight, very emotional at the beginning,” Atmane said. “I’m a very sensitive, emotional guy. I like to show my emotions. I’m still showing my emotions on court, I still scream. I’m still like this, but every time I’m in control now.

“In the end, he put out all the pressure that I had before. He put out all the expectations and he was just saying, ‘Just go on court, give your 100 per cent, die on court, that’s it. If you lose, then we work and don’t worry about it’. As simple as that. And that completely changed my head.”

Atmane’s bright personality shines off the court, too. He enjoys doing magic tricks and is nicknamed ‘The Magician’, which is also his Instagram profile name. He boasts an impressive Pokémon collection. Atmane has an IQ score of 158, which he says offers some insight into his on-court demeanour.

“I’m more emotional than the usual guy because I’m thinking more. I have more thoughts in my head. I’ve always been someone very sensitive, very nice,” Atmane said. “I was always very nervous on court. I remember when I was 10 years old, I was already breaking racquets. It was like always part of me. So taking this off took a lot of time.”

It’s not just Peyre that sees such high potential in Atmane, World No. 121 in the PIF ATP Rankings. When the Frenchman forced Daniil Medvedev to four sets at last year’s Australian Open, the former No. 1 shared kind words when shaking hands with Atmane, who was forced to retire due to cramps.

“He was telling me, ‘Keep going, because you are unplayable'. It was something like that — I don’t remember exactly — but it was something like ‘unplayable’,” Atmane recalled. “And then after, he mentioned in the interview, ‘Yeah, that guy played like Top 20 for three sets’. He gave me big confidence. Daniil wasn’t someone I knew from before.”

Atmane heard similar encouragement from Grigor Dimitrov last year in Rome and also from World No. 4 Taylor Fritz at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Shanghai, where the American needed two tie-breaks to scrape past the lefty.

Moments like those have only added to Atmane’s confidence as he continues to climb. Now the four-time Challenger champion will chase a milestone first main-draw victory at a major, but more than anything, he is enjoying this journey.

“It's very beautiful that I can do it now as a living. If someone stops me to get a picture, I cannot say no. It’s part of me. I want to connect with people,” Atmane said. “I’m very sensitive about it, very careful about it because I really like to have these little moments with people in general. It has always been like this. [I’m] someone who really loves what they are doing.”

^{Terence Atmane greets fans at last month's Guangzhou Challenger. Credit: Guangzhou Nansha International Challenger}