Jules Marie: YouTube sensation continues to chase his dreams

Nine years ago, Jules Marie last competed in qualifying at Roland Garros. A lot has happened for the Frenchman since then — six years away from professional tennis, time spent as a coach and hitting partner, and an ascent to YouTube stardom.

But now the popular vlogger is not just playing as well as he ever has — he is back on the sport’s biggest stages. The 32-year-old, whose YouTube channel has 120,000 subscribers and more than 22.5 million video views, is closing in on the Top 200 of the PIF ATP Rankings and ready to make his return to qualifying in Paris.

“It feels really good. It's an achievement, of course, for every tennis player to play the Grand Slams. There are a lot of players who are trying to reach them and it's really tough because there are a lot of good players on the Tour and it's not something easy,” Marie told ATPTour.com. “When I started again in 2022 [with a low ranking], it was my goal, and I didn't know if I could reach it.”

In 2015, the same year he most recently competed at Roland Garros, Marie brought his professional career to a halt. He was sick of the flights, being in airports and the overall grind. Over the next six years he remained in shape playing prize-money tournaments in France, including a big win at the Open de Caen, where he defeated top players including David Goffin, Ugo Humbert and Lucas Pouille.

Three years ago, Marie was a hitting partner at the clay-court major, where he trained with Novak Djokovic.

“When I was there, I was looking at every player and I could imagine myself on the court playing,” Marie said.

Since then, the Frenchman has taken his thousands of fans around the globe on his journey back towards the top of the sport, showing them what it takes to compete on Tour.

It has been nearly a decade since Marie has played at a major. But according to the Frenchman, his game is not much different if it is at all.

“I think I play the same tennis. Maybe some details are a bit different, but it's not a big, big gap between me now and me in 2012, '13,” Marie said. “I have more experience, I know myself really good. And mentally, it's a bit different because now I have a lot of support. I'm traveling with Baptiste my filmmaker every time. Before, I was alone sometimes, so it was more difficult. Now with the YouTube channel, I found a business plan to help me to pay all flights, hotel, food, so it helps a lot.

“That was a big thing in my first career. It was tough. My parents were helping me, but I stopped because of that. Today I can play without this. I'm more free mentally... I think I'm more experienced, mentally more free and maybe more confident in myself.”

According to Marie, his YouTube channel helps his tennis. Famous chess streamer Hikaru Nakamura, one of the best chess players in the world, often speaks about how being focused on his content creation has changed his mindset in competition. If he loses, so be it, he goes back to his “real job”. Marie’s situation does not hold true to the same extent, but he explained that there are similarities.

“It's a new job that I do when I have free time, when I'm not on the court. My head is not into practice and tennis 100 per cent. I have something else on the side that I can work on,” Marie said. “But when I said I was more free mentally, it's true, of course. It's a big pressure that I don't have anymore.”

At the beginning of the 2023 season, Marie was just inside the world’s Top 500. This January, he returned to major qualifying at the Australian Open, where he won his opening match against Benoit Paire before losing in the second round. Just two months ago, he reached a career-high World No. 203.

“In October, it was really the goal to reach a Grand Slam. It was the goal when I started again,” Marie said. “I said [on my YouTube channel], ‘I will show you how to play a Grand Slam’. I reached it, but now you want more. If you have a goal, you reached it and then you want more.”

That “more” for Marie is qualifying for the main draw at a major.

“This is my dream,” Marie said. “I will try and of course the YouTube channel helps me a lot on the Tour. I'm really working on it every day. So it's a job as well.”

As far as the Frenchman’s tennis goes, he believes there is room for improvement on his serve and level of aggression. Marie believes those traits will be key to climbing further in the PIF ATP Rankings.

“I know I have a really good baseline game. But if I want to beat the really good players, the Top 100, Top 150, I have to do more. And when I was on the French tour during six years before going back to ATP, I played some really good players — Pouille, Humbert, Goffin, Tsonga — and I was totally free,” Marie said. “I knew that I would lose before the match if I played my game. So every time I played them, I did more on the court. So I have to do the same now on ATP, but I know with my baseline game, I can beat some good guys as well.”

As good of a tennis player Marie is, it is his YouTube channel that has catapulted him to stardom. He is often stopped on the streets of Paris, and not because of a match win.

“A lot. In Paris, if I go on the street all day between three and seven people every day. It's crazy,” Marie said of the 'Breakers', the name for his fans. “And they don't say ‘Hello, I've been following your YouTube’. It’s, ‘Hello, I'm a breaker’. It's really nice to see all the people that follow it and I can cross onto the street, it's really fun. Sometimes a photo on the street, it's funny.”

THIS IS TENNIS - ATP Tour 2024 campaign is all about reaching out to fans celebrating, championing and showcasing the very best from tennis both on and off court. Check out our hero brand film.