"Legendary" Michael Chang makes a return to tennis court, American icon trains with Elina Svitolina after her French Open exit

Michael Chang's love for tennis hasn't withered despite retiring over two decades ago. The American was recently seen hitting the court for a practice session with Elina Svitolina, following the latter's exit from the ongoing French Open.

The 2023 French Open was the first Grand Slam Svitolina competed in following her return from maternity leave. She had a spectacular run to the quarterfinals last year. In this season's edition, she defeated the likes of Karolína Plíšková, Diane Parry, and Ana Bogdan before being eliminated in the fourth round of the clay-court major by Elena Rybakina.

Following her exit, Svitolina engaged in a practice session with the great Michael Chang. Svitolina took to Instagram to share a picture of herself and Michael Chang, both in tennis gear.

“Legendary Michael Chang,” Svitolina captioned the picture.

Elina Svitolina's Instagram story

Since making it to the final of the ASB Classic in Auckland and the fourth round of the Australian Open in January, Svitolina has struggled with consistency. This season, she has managed to win 17 matches across 11 WTA tournaments.

Michael Chang, on the other hand, won a total of 34 singles titles when he was active and was ranked as high as No. 2 in the ATP rankings. The American holds the record for being the youngest Grand Slam champion, having won the 1989 French Open by defeating Stefan Edberg in the final, 6–1, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2, at just 17 years and three months old.

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Michael Chang opens up about his post-retirement life - “I’ve been super busy”

ATP Masters Series: Monte Carlo Rolex Masters - Day Eight

Michael Chang once opened up about his life since retiring in 2003. In a 2023 interview with ‘The Athletic,’ he mentioned that he has been super busy. He and his wife, Amber Liu, are actively involved in supporting their three children in their athletic pursuits, particularly in golf and tennis.

“I’ve been super busy. My kids are 12, 10 and 7, so we’re in this stage now where (wife) Amber and I, we’re shuttling the kids around for their sports. My oldest daughter plays tennis, so she’s playing a lot of high-level national tournaments. Our second daughter is playing a lot of golf tournaments. Our little boy is starting to play some tennis tournaments. You can imagine our weekends are super busy,” Chang said

Chang also mentioned that he and his wife, Amber, manage several businesses and run their charity, the Michael and Amber Chang Foundation.

“We have some businesses, as well as our charity foundation in Southern California. A lot of things going on … sometimes very tiring, but all in all, a ton of fun,” he added

Chang has also been coaching Japanese star Kei Nishikori since 2014. Nishikori had been sidelined since 2021 due to injury but recently made his return to the ATP Tour at the 2024 French Open, where he reached the second round.