Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (; born 9 April 1978) is a French politician, businesswoman, and former professional tennis player who served as Minister of Sports and Olympic and Paralympic Games in the government of successive Prime Ministers Élisabeth Borne and Gabriel Attal from May 2022 to September 2024.
Tennis career Born in Paris, Castéra was the 14-and-under Junior Orange Bowl champion in 1992. She was a girls' singles semi-finalist at the 1993 US Open, 1994 French Open and 1994 Wimbledon Championships.
As a professional player she reached a best singles ranking of 251 in the world. Castéra competed as a wildcard in the women's singles main draw at the 1994 French Open, where she lost in the first round to Sabine Appelmans. On the WTA Tour she qualified for two tournaments, the 1994 Internationaux de Strasbourg and 1995 Eastbourne International.
Career in business Oudéa-Castéra was the Director General of the French Tennis Federation (FFT). She was the former head of e-commerce, data, and digital at French retailer Carrefour. She was also a former senior executive at insurance firm AXA.
Political career Oudéa-Castéra briefly held the additional portfolio of National Education under Prime Minister Gabriel Attal in January 2024. Following her nomination, however, she became the subject of public criticism after claiming her "frustration" over teacher absences in her eldest son's state school had been behind the choice to move him to the private, catholic Collège Stanislas.Kim Willsher (15 January 2024), Row over education minister sparks crisis in France’s new government The Guardian. Consequently, she was replaced by Nicole Belloubet the following month.Dominique Vidalon (8 February 2024), Macron replaces embattled education minister with former justice minister Belloubet Reuters.
In March 2024, Oudéa-Castéra revealed that since the year 2020, sex abuse complaints had been filed against 1,284 coaches, teachers and sports officials, with 186 facing criminal proceedings and 624 being sanctioned with temporary or permanent bans. According to Oudéa-Castéra, more than 300 French coaches, teachers and sports officials were accused of sexual abuse or covering up sex abuse in the year 2023.
On 13 July 2024, Oudéa-Castéra swam in the River Seine for a television crew from BFM TV to help assauge concerns about the cleanliness of the waterway and its proposed role in the upcoming 2024 Summer Olympics.
In August 2024, after French Olympic sprinter Muhammad Abdallah Kounta was suspended by the President of the French Athletics Federation for publishing comments inciting hatred on social media, including inciting hatred against France, white people, Christians, and Jews, as well as support for the Islamist group Hamas, and including his desire to "kill Little White," Oudéa-Castéra said Kounta's posts were "as shocking as they are unacceptable."Daniel Soriano (15 August 2024). "Athlete Muhammad Kounta penalised for hate speech," Inside the Games."French Olympic Athlete Kounta Suspended For Inciting Hatred On Social Media," Agence France Presse, August 14, 2024."Athlete Muhammad Abdallah Kounta prov after discovery of his pro-Hamas and anti-White tweets," Entrevue.fr, August 15, 2024.
Later career Since 2025, Oudéa-Castéra has been serving as president of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee.Nicolas Lepeltier (19 June 2025), Amélie Oudéa-Castéra élue à la tête du Comité national olympique moins d’un an après son départ du ministère des sports Le Monde (in French).
Personal life In 2006, Oudéa-Castéra married banker Frédéric Oudéa, who is the former CEO of Société Générale and current president of the board of Sanofi. She has three children.
She belongs to the Duhamel family, prominent in the French media for multiple generations.
ITF finals Singles (0–1) Legend$10,000 tournaments
OutcomeNo.DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreRunner-up 1. 2 May 1994 Balaguer, Spain Clay Rosa María Pérez 4–6, 4–6
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