Pam Shriver sends support to tennis player who has accused former coach of rape

Tennis legend Pam Shriver has sent her support to Fiona Ferro, who has accused her former coach Pierre Bouteyre of rape and sexual assault.

According to Nice Matin, Ferro has accused Bouteyre of committing rape and sexual assault between 2012 and 2015 in Saint-Raphaël. She would have been between the ages of 15 and 18 during this period.

The complaint was filed in February and investigated for several months, and Bouteyre has now been formally charged.

The 50-year-old, who faces up to 20 years in prison, has allegedly been told not to approach Ferro.

Shriver, who recently revealed she had a “traumatic” relationship with her 50-year-old coach while she was a teenager, posted her support for Ferro on Twitter.

“Sending my best support to Fiona Ferro,” the American wrote. “The best way to improve safeguarding, is to tell our stories.”

Ferro was coached by Bouteyre from 2010 to 2016, during which she became a three-time national girls’ champion. The young star made her WTA Tour debut in 2014, playing at the French Open that year.

Achieving a career-high standing of 39th in 2021, Ferro is currently 259th in the world rankings.

Bouteyre went on to spend eight months coaching Alizé Cornet, who recently defeated Emma Raducanu in the first round of the US Open. Their partnership ended in 2019.

In an article for The Telegraph in April, Shriver revealed the details of her relationship with coach Don Candy, warning that such situations are still commonplace in tennis.

Sending my best support to Fiona Ferro. The best way to improve safeguarding, is to tell our stories. https://t.co/kXpqGgwQ2t

“I believe abusive coaching relationships are alarmingly common in sport as a whole,” she said. “My particular expertise, though, is in tennis,