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French professional player Fiona Ferro has accused former coach Pierre Bouteyre of rape and sexual assault. The transgressions allegedly took place in Saint-Raphael, a resort town in southeastern France, between 2012 and 2015, when Ferro was aged 15 to 18 years.
The news was first reported by Nice-Matin, a French regional daily. Bouteyre is a former French professional player who has also coached Alize Cornet previously.
On August 18, six days before her elimination at the US Open, the 25-year-old learned of the indictment of her former coach Bouteyre for rape and sexual assault. He was indicted on August 19 and is said to be facing 20 years in prison.
The report states that Bouteyre is aware of the accusations but has denied all accusations of rape, with his lawyer Virginie Pin disputing the allegations.
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"He recognizes the materiality of the facts but disputes the accusation of rape," his lawyer said.
It is believed that Fiona Ferro and her former coach had a confrontation the day before the indictment, following which Bouteyre was forbidden from contacting the Frenchwoman and was also barred from training minors for the time being.
According to the original report, Ferro filed a complaint with the Fréjus police station on February 25 accusing her former coach of multiple rapes and sexual assaults. Investigators are said to be looking to establish if there have been any other victims.
Current ranked No. 259 in the world, Fiona Ferro was recently in action at Flushing Meadows, where she lost in the first round of qualifying at the US Open.
Fiona Ferro's accusations comes days after 'inappropriate' celebrations between a player and her coach during US Open qualifying
Days before Fiona Ferro's news broke, Czech player Sara Bejlek made big strides in her career by reaching the US Open main draw this year. She defeated Heather Watson in a tough three-setter to reach her maiden Grand Slam main draw.
However, it was the celebrations between her and her coach that caught the attention of everyone watching. Following the win, the 16-year-old walked over to her coaching team to celebrate the momentous occasion. However, in a video that has gone viral on social media, members of her team, including her father and coach, were seen in what fans have called "highly inappropriate" gestures.
Fans even took to Twitter to voice their ire at the coach's actions, with some even calling for investigations.
The relationship between coaches and players, especially on the women's circuit, has long been a topic of discussion. Earlier this year, former doubles World No. 1 Pam Shirver revealed that she had a relationship with her coach as a teenager.
