Ex-Wimbledon finalist looks unrecognisable after shaving iconic hair

Former Wimbledon finalist Cedric Pioline is barely recognisable, 27 years after his showdown with Pete Sampras on the iconic Centre Court. The 54-year-old, once known for his floppy hair, has since opted for a bald look in his middle age.

Pioline was ranked 44th globally when he defied the odds to reach the 1997 final. The Frenchman ousted 1991 champion Michael Stich from the semis over five sets before falling to Sampras 64, 62, 64.

"I found myself thinking, 'wow this is too easy'. I don't mean to be disrespectful toward Cedric. It was just that the match was on my racquet, far sooner and with far less difficulty than I expected," Sampras penned in his biography.

Critics had written off Pioline ahead of the tournament, and he was becoming increasingly unpopular with his home crowd after showing them the finger at the Paris-Mercy Masters a year earlier following a second-round defeat to Yevgeny Kafelnikov. The proud Parisian was booed off the court after his early exit and in a fit of rage, responded with the explicit gesture to the audience.

He later stated that it was only intended for a few noisy individuals, but the damage was already done. Ironically, Pioline now serves as the Paris Masters tournament director, a role he has held since February 2022.

Pioline, the man at the helm, has dropped a bombshell about the Masters potentially moving out of Paris to accommodate larger audiences, despite local disapproval.

"So how can we grow? These are the subjects that will come up. The deadline that we have is comfortable. It's 24 months. It will come fast," he declared.

"We don't have any obligation. ATP does not impose this on us. But when your neighbour repaints their house, your house looks less good. This is the way I should describe it.

"That (moving out of Paris) is one of the options that are available. We are thinking about it. We are starting to make inquiries. Of course until now, we were very much busy with the organization of this edition, but we do not exclude this.

"We will study this. Then the Federation at the highest level, namely the president and ComEx will make their decisions, and we will implement it. This is possible. I say this in full transparency, because Accor Arena knows about this. They know that we are thinking about it."