All About Félix Auger-Aliassime’s Parents, Sam Aliassime and Marie Auger

Félix Auger-Aliassime owes his professional tennis career to his parents, Sam Aliassime and Marie Auger. 

Even though he doesn’t consider his mom, who works as a teacher, “a sports fan,” athletics were always in Félix’s future.

The tennis star told The New York Times that his dad, a former tennis coach, began teaching him at the age of 4, alongside his older sister Malika Auger-Aliassime. “Our parents wanted me to be a complete athlete,” he told ESPN in March 2019. “So we played all sports, but tennis always was at the top.”

So much so that Félix traveled to his first tournament abroad without his parents when he was only 10 years old. Even then, Marie joked with Le Journal de Québec that she “never” received a call from him saying he was homesick. 

“He always prided himself on being independent,” she told the Canadian publication in March 2022. “Even today, he’s the one who makes his own career decisions. Of course, he consults his agent, his coaches, his parents. But he’s very wise in his choices.”

Here’s everything to know about Félix Auger-Aliassime’s parents, Sam Aliassime and Marie Auger. 

Sam emigrated from Togo 

When he was 26, Sam emigrated from Togo, a country in West Africa, to Canada, where he married Marie. In a June 2019 interview with The Guardian, Félix opened up about how much his mother helped him to not “feel alone” in a new country. 

“For sure it was challenging for him,” the tennis pro said. “He left everything behind and was sacrificing a lot. The memory I have of growing up is my dad doing everything he could to make it work for us. We never really felt pressure. Everything he did was for the family and the kids.”

He added, “They sacrifice everything for you. They’re not just giving you tennis lessons, they’re giving you life lessons.” 

They have two children 

Marie and Sam share two children. Malika was born in 1998, and Félix arrived two years later in 2000. Like her brother, Malika also plays tennis and wrote in her Next College Student Athlete profile that she’s no stranger to hard work. 

“I like to work hard,” she wrote in her personal statement. “I never give up and I know the meaning of the word sacrifice.”

To pay homage to their dual heritage, Sam wanted his two children to have both of their parents’ last names, per ESPN.

Sam was Félix’s coach until he was 13 

In Togo, Sam grew up in a family of 11 boys — all of whom wanted to play soccer, himself included. Though he told Tennis Canada in February 2023 that he played “a little tennis” on the courts in his father’s hotel, he pursued soccer until a coach told him not to. 

“I couldn’t dribble or do much with my left foot,” the father-of-two said. “I always shot and got passes with my right. My coach said ‘Sam, forget about a career in soccer. You’re not good enough with your left foot.’ I was discouraged, but then I took up tennis full time.” 

Sam, who opened a tennis academy in Togo at just 18, passed on both his passion for the game and his lessons from his biggest weakness to Félix. The former coach struggled with a shaky backhand, a flaw his young son didn’t hesitate to exploit whenever they played.

“That’s when I began telling [Félix] that, if he wanted to play tennis, he had to be good in every aspect of the game,” Sam said, adding that they focused on developing his backhand which was noticeably better than his forehand when he started training with the pros. “That didn’t come out of nowhere. It’s from my obsession with my left foot,” he joked. 

Sam coached his son until he was 13, and then he began working under the guidance of the National Training Centre in Montreal, per ESPN.

Marie is a teacher

Marie is a child psychology teacher. Though tennis was always a priority, it didn’t come before Félix’s education.

He told ESPN that he made a pact with his parents to “finish high school with good grades” and then decide if he would “go to university or go pro.”

Obviously, going pro was the right choice. 

Sam and Marie are no longer together 

Marie confirmed in her 2022 interview with Le Journal de Québec that she and Sam had divorced. However, the schoolteacher noted that they still worked together to make their son’s tennis dreams come true. 

“It makes me even happier when people tell me that Félix is ​​a good person, that he’s intelligent, because as a parent, I didn’t raise a tennis player,” she said. “I helped a child become a comfortable adult.”

Marie continued, “It’s always been a family project, with his father, even though we’re divorced. And I look at him, and it’s true that he’s like that. But as a parent, you can’t take all the credit for that.”

Marie said her son’s fame is “surreal” 

In 2022, Marie decided to take a half-year sabbatical to travel with Félix on tour. Though there are times when she has “palpitations” watching her son play, she said she learned to control the nerves, noting that “it’s like I’m in a plane and he’s the pilot.” But that doesn’t mean she has gotten used to his life in the spotlight.

“As a parent, you’re never prepared to have a child who has a public life,” Marie told Le Journal de Québec. “When I arrive in a city and see his picture plastered on the buses, there’s something a little surreal!” 

She added, “But for me, Félix is ​​still Félix. When we’re at home, I forget all that. But I know it’s part of his career, and he plays that role very well. He never gets impatient, and he’s always very generous with his time.”

Sam told Tennis Canada that he believes his son’s success has inspired more Black kids to pursue tennis. 

“When I arrived at this club, here, in Québec, I was the only Black person,” he said. “Today, there are so many Black kids who play tennis and who believe because they saw Félix do it.”