Catherine Tanvier had the tennis world at her feet when she was a teenager. A former French No. 1 and top 20 player, she became one of the most promising players of the 1980s, starting by winning junior Wimbledon and beating legends like Billie Jean King when she took to the professional ranks.
But the harrowing details of Tanvier’s home life remained a secret until she published her memoir, Declassee: De Roland-Garros au RMI, roughly translating to Withdrew: From the French Open to the Dole, in 2007.
The 1983 Freiburg Open champion was forced to become the family’s main earner as a teenager when her dad left home.
But she was left with nothing when she bailed her estranged father out of tax difficulties, and then had the tax man come to her own door, asking for all of her winnings.
Following her parents’ divorce, Tanvier became the provider for a family of five. “I was winning the salary of an adult person in a week, but travelling is expensive, paying fees is so expensive,” she told the Irish Times.
When Tanvier was in her 20s, revenue collectors came to her door. At the time, they didn’t know how to tax a professional tennis player. They wanted her £371k ($500k) winnings and ended up taking everything – including the family’s furniture.
“I was the very first professional living there. All the males were living in Switzerland or London, so no tax. Tax people didn’t know how to tax a professional tennis player,” she recalled.
“Of course I didn’t have the money. They came to my place. They took everything, except that it wasn’t my furniture, it was my mom’s. They wanted to humiliate me.”
Tanvier’s candid autobiography doesn’t shy away from the dark side of her life away from tennis, as she recalls her battle with depression, a suicide attempt, and stories of alcohol and drug abuse.
The former world No. 20 told Women Sports: “Yes, this book is the result of my anger. My journey has been tough. At 15, I was a professional player and the breadwinner for my family.
“I experienced some very difficult times, despite my achievements. Declassee: De Roland-Garros au RMI is a violent book, but I needed to put these words down. The text is moving, poignant, harsh, cruel, but very real.”
The former world No. 20 eventually moved to Ireland for a few months. She now resides in Nice, and has since published several other books, including another biography, Detraquements, de la colere a la torpeur, in 2013.
Tanvier also starred in Jean-Luc Godard’s movie Film Socialisme. After reading her book, the director asked to meet the former tennis star and “saw something” in her. The pair even played tennis together while filming.