France, April 30 -- The French Tennis Federation on Tuesday began its hunt for a new captain for the international women's team after confirming the departure of Julien Benneteau when his contract ends this summer.

Benneteau, 43, succeeded Yannick Noah as captain of the Fed Cup team in June 2018 and led the squad of the country's best female players to victory over Australia in 2019 to claim the international team competition for a third time since its inception in 1963.

However, subsequent sides were unable to emulate that high and Francewere relegated in November 2024 to the second division of teams in the revamped format called the Billie Jean King Cup.

Last month, the team played in a promotion/relegation tournament in Vilnius in L...