You moved to France at the age of 14, why did you choose Bordeaux out of all places?
For the education. Bordeaux has great colleges and my 3 oldest brothers respectively got their higher education there in medicine, economics, and political science. My two sisters studied biology and foreign languages.

You live now in Los Angeles with your family.
Yes, I met my wife, Tonya, during a tournament in Italy. She was there on modeling assignments, but her home was in Los Angeles. I told her one day that "I would never live in L.A."  Well, that's exactly where I ended up living!  Los Angeles has a lot to offer and the climate is some of the best you can find. This is a place you either hate it or love it, I have been living in L.A now for 10 years,

Do you go back to Haiti often?
My first time back was in October 2007  after almost 10 years. The country has been affected by a lot of years of political turmoil and it was shocking to still see how difficult life is for millions of Haitians. The poverty isextreme, the natural resources are limited and the tourism (who should have been the key element for its economy) is dead. Haiti used to attract a lot of tourists a long time ago but not anymore. I also never understood how people could die of hunger within one hour from the United States, this is an aberration. The world's wealthiest nations are sending millions of dollars to help but if you want to resolve the poverty and corruption in Haiti you need to invest billions of dollars in infrastructure, education, sports and human resources

You started coaching in 2002 and opened the Ronald Agenor Tennis Academy in Los Angeles, CA. How has this initiative gone?
I started coaching soon after September 11. I was a little worried about traveling around the world. I had a group of players that were competing in the future level tournaments and asked me if I could help them out.

Any prospects?
I had a few. Americans Zack Fleishman and Lesley Joseph had a promising career in front of them. I had predicted that with 5 years of dedication and hard work, Fleishman could win the US Open and Joseph had a shot at making at least the top 50 in the world. My coaching relationship lasted only one year with Fleishman and 3 years with Joseph. They both got the chance to play in the Grand Slams while training with me, which is OK, but for different reasons they have not achieved their potential.

How is life in the United States?
Very different than what I have experienced before from Europe or Africa but I really like the way we live in America. You basically have a country with fifty states that offers fifty different lifestyles, this is very unique. America is also a great country for diversity and freedom but unfortunately September 11 has changed a little bit the freedom this country has always enjoyed and now the current recession is hurting the "American Dream". But I love what people of colour have been able to achieve in the United States.

You are one of the very few “Black” tennis players to have reached the top 20 in the world, how do you explain so little numbers in the tennis history to have reached the top?
Tennis has been and still is in a lot of places in the world the sport for the rich only and for a long time "Blacks" were not allowed to play. In Europe, tennis is more of a middle class sport and you see more and more Black players coming up. To me if a player has the talent, enough sponsoring, the best coaching possible, then nothing can prevent him to get to the top. Despite the segregation, America has still produced the best and the biggest number of Black players in the history of the game.

Do you have an idea about why American tennis is not playing the top roles anymore?
American tennis is still greatly represented on the women's side with Venus and Serena Williams still winning one or two Grand Slams every year. and you have Roddick that is having a good run this year and in the top 5 in the world. But I think overall it is a combination of things. First of all I think September 11 has done a lot of damage in the minds of American players, including me. The fear of traveling and also the hate towards US citizens around the world after the invasion in Iraq has probably scared some players into not traveling around the world as they could also be targeted. Don't forget that being a professional tennis player requires extensive traveling around the globe.

I think also that the academies in the US are applying the same technique to every single player they train and therefore do not leave any space to a player’s natural talent and personality. Parents could also be part of the problem as they become all of a sudden coaches too.  Hiring a former top professional player is of course not a total guarantee of success, but at least it reduces considerably the errors that parents can make due to a lack of experience. 
Also Harry Hopman and Nick Bolletieri academies used to be the best training places to produce top American players (I attended a two week camp at Hopman’s when I was 16 years old) and Saddlebrook has not produced the same results since Harry Hopman passed away and Nick Bolletieri has not produced a top player since Andre Agassi.
As a result, Europe have now a lot of tournaments and many top academies. I think it is important that American players get exposed to the different styles of tennis that is being developed in other countries. It helps them become better players. Last but not least, the desire for success among youngsters in America is not what it used to be but I am sure that at some point a new generation of American players will dominate the game again

Greatest and worst moments of your career?
My Gold Medal for Haiti at the Central American Games in Cuba was one of my greatest moment. I was 18 years old and received the Medal from Cuban President Fidel Castro. My first pro tournament win in Marrakech, Morocco as I was born there and my first ATP Tour event in Athens, Greece are something I will always remember. My quarterfinal at the French Open in 1989, my record of the longest match in the history of the French Open in 1994 (71 games) since the open era, and my comeback in 1999 at 35 years of age are also great moments to cherish. The worst moment is probably my loss to Jimmy Connors at the French Open in 1991. I had 3 opponents in that match: Connors, the umpire, and a French crowd of 17,000 people. I had beaten him the previous year and the way I lost to him was difficult to handle. I cried for the first time after a tennis match.

How is family life?
I am enjoying my family a lot. They mean the world to me. My wife is doing a fantastic job with the kids and I do everything I can to make them happy and to build their future. It is a big responsibility to raise children and I want to be the best father I can possibly be.

Are your two daughters set for a professional tennis career?
I think going to college is the right thing to do. I would like for them to get an education and a college degree at a great college. I would also like for them to be involved in sports and so far they like tennis a lot. I try to make it fun for them and we will see where it goes from there. They are at the same time involved in many different activities and you really do not know where they will excel the most. But if they develop a real passion for tennis and have the potential to reach the top why not go for it?

In 1999 you have attributed your incredible comeback to Tonya your fiancee back then and now your wife. What has she meant to you?
Tonya has been my backbone for a long time. She has supported me all along during my difficult comeback. I should write a book about it. She is a strong woman and again a fantastic mother. I remember that at some point during my comeback people would come to see my matches so they could also see "The Am erican Model" I was with. She took some time off her modeling career to travel with me and was featured in several magazines such as Vogue Magazine.

If you have not been a professional tennis player…what would you have been?
A Diplomat, (International Relations) or an actor. An actor is definitely "The real deal" as you can play so many different roles, including being a tennis player!

What is the present and future for Ronald?
I am running coaching and training programs in Los Angeles to help American players as well as players coming from all over the world.
I am also competing again and will participate in a few ATP events on the Professional Tour. I hope I can still play some big tennis at my age but I know it is not going to be easy. I am just excited to the idea to be around the big tennis scene again. Playing more doubles than singles and coaching at the same could be fun and open some other opportunities. But I have such a passion for the game that I I know that I will want to be to play hard again. We will see if and how long my body will hold up!

I also spent a full year working on a project to help Haiti's youth through sport and education but unfortunately, despite a good start this project is going down the drain. (The project was about building an Eight Million Dollar state of the art facilty in Haiti where young talented haitians could pursue their education and work on their tennis game at the same time with the goal of getting a tennis college scholarship in the United States and/or pursue a professional tennis career).

Do you still play the guitar?
Not as much as I would like to. The last 4 years have not given me any free time to play, but I hope in the near future I will have the opportunity to get back in the recording studio. Playing the guitar and composing music was essential to my well being when I was on the Tour.

How is tennis different today for guys like Tsonga and Monfils compared to when you were 20 years old and trying to make it on the tour?
They are coming from a country and a tennis system that provides absolutely everything a player needs to succeed. They have top coaches, top sponsors, top facilities, and top tournaments at their disposal. Together they should win a few Slams with all of this. Tsonga was close to achieving that at the Australian Open. 

At the end of your career you followed your wife back to her country of the USA.  What have been the biggest challenge for you in adjusting to life in the USA?
Finding the place where you “fit” culturally has been the biggest challenge!

France was a base for you throughout your career.  Do you keep in touch with friends and colleagues there and what do you think about French tennis today?
With the Internet and all the social networks it is so easy now to stay in touch with friends and colleagues. I do keep in touch as often as possible with former players, classmates, and friends.  The French Tennis Federation has always done an incredible job with its tennis structure. They have a great support system for their many talented players. I greatly benefited from their system at the beginning of my career.

What has your tennis success meant to Haiti?
I think joy and pride in the hearts of Haitians around the world. I have been a positive example of what Haitian and Caribbean people can achieve on the world stage. I have symbolized an island of positivity in the sea of negative press coverage that Haiti and the rest of the region tend to get. In a sport that is so dominated by players from the big countries, I have given tennis fans from all small countries something to be proud of.

No trace of Ronald on the Senior Tour?
I have been “On hold” for about so many years now. They keep changing the rules and it is not easy to be included. Past and current people running the Senior Tour have said that maybe I will get in as a wild card. It is more a "Private Business". Too bad because I am sure there are a lot of players out there that would have loved to keep competing after 35 years of age and still be able to make money.

Serbs and Chinese women have been emerging as players to watch in tennis.  Is the future of tennis on a global scale in these countries?
Being a professional tennis athlete is another way to succeed in life and it seems that those countries and their governments have invested a lot of money in developing the sport of tennis. The results are here to show that it is a success.

How can Black players overcome the problems put in their way in tennis?
The demographics in tennis are different than other sports. For example in soccer in the French national team, 90% of the players are Black. In the NBA in the US, 90% of the players are Black and in tennis 1% of the players are Black. In tennis you play for yourself as oppose to playing for a team that pays everything for you and Black players need to invest major money to play this game and have the drive and the determination to make it happen by all means.
As of today, there is no tennis academy in the world that has produced a “Top Black Professional Tennis Player”. Most Blacks players in the United States made it with the help of their families (The succes of the Williams Sisters are the perfect example), where in France the players such as Noah, Tsonga, and Monfils made it with the help of the French system. This is the great thing about France, because of their former colonies they have always opened the door to Black athletes in every sport, as long as they have the skills.  However this French “Open mind” in sports has never fully translated in the other parts of the social life in France.

You became a US Citizen in 2006?
Yes, it was very emotional. About 80 different countries were represented that day with a crowd of 1,200 people coming from France, England, Canada, Congo, Australia, China, and other parts of the world. I could have been a French citizen at the beginning of my career, but winning the Gold Medal for Haiti at the Central American Games in Cuba in 1982 made me a sudden National Hero in Haiti. At my arrival in Port-au-Prince from Cuba, a huge delegation was waiting for me. At that point I felt that it was my mission to represent Haiti around the world.

Do you sometimes think about how your career would have been different representing a country like France?
I do but I guess I would not think about it at all if my country would have done what they are supposed to do to reward me for all the sacrifices I made representing the country around the world for 19 years. If I think strictly about the money standpoint it is obvious that I could have tripled my revenues by representing France. Just think that ranked in the top 20 in the world, I was virtually the second best player in France after Yannick Noah and I could have played Davis Cup with him. World Group Davis Cup Teams make a lot of money without forgetting the personal endorsements. United States could have been a better country for endorsemen ts as a foreigner because in general Americans do not care where you are coming from if you have a good marketing power. In France they are more I would say “Nationalists” and it is more difficult.

From being ranked 8 in the world in the juniors and throughout my career representing Haiti proudly I gave a positive image of the country and always had in mind that I would be a Diplomat for Haiti once my tennis career would be over. I was also never really worried about my after career because I figure out that former top players from Western countries have their Tennis Federations to fall back on and on my end I will have my government to provide me with whatever I needed as I would also keep doing positive things for the country. It is something that is done in most of third world countries towards their prestigious athletes or other figures that have helped give a positive image of their country.
Unfortunately my calculations were wrong with Haiti and it has been a total disapointment. As an example among other things, I was promised a Diplomatic Passport in 1998 by officials and here we are 11 years after I have not received anything.

I think I was too naive about the way things are handled in Haiti and the mentality. I can never never figure out where is left and where is right. The Haitian Tennis Federation is another reason why I sometimes think that way. I was the one every time asking if we could do something together to develop tennis in Haiti and every time I got the same response that it will be great for the country but they do not have any funds to do anything.

Every time I started to do something in Haiti I heard people wondering and concerned more about how much money I will get out of it instead of looking at all the positive things my projects and ideas will bring to the country. With what I know today I would have certainly made some adjustments and managed my professional tennis career differently, but I have put those negative thoughts behind me now and I keep telling myself that this is 'Haiti" and nothing is going to change.

How much do you think of your parents these days now that you are a father yourself?
I think about my parents every single day, they are resting in peace in Bordeaux, France. I miss them a lot and wish they could have seen my daughters. I wish also that they had traveled more to my tournaments, but they gave me their very best and I am grateful. They made sacrifices for me to make it along with my other brother and sisters who have chosen the path of professions. My brother Patrick is a Cardiologist in France and Pierre-Richard is a world renown Economist (IMF, World Bank, Hallsworth Professor of International Macroeconomics at Manchester University) and has published several books. My parents, my brothers and sisters were essential to my success.

What was the one quality your father had that was key to your success in tennis and off court?
Dedication, courage and the fighting spirit. Never give up. I remember him giving me the Rudyard Kipling writing "IF". Those lines say it all.

Do you see yourself as a father figure now to the players you train?
Nobody and nothing can replace a player’s own father or parent, but it is obvious that coaching players requires other tools and skills other than correcting a forehand or a backhand.  

One last word?
May this world live in peace and harmony for the sake of our children.