“Sport had given me freedom”: death of Adriana Pioline, mother of Cédric Pioline and former Romanian volleyball player who took refuge in France

Adriana Pioline, mother of former world number 5 Cédric Pioline, died this Thursday, January 23 at the age of 93. Born in Bucharest, Romanian international volleyball player, she fled the Ceaucescu dictatorship during a trip to the 1956 world championship, played in France, to settle in Paris. She had obtained political refugee status.

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“Sport had given me freedom, I wanted my children to also have a sports education, especially since Cédric was clearly not destined for further education,” she said. Cédric Pioline (in the tennis section) and Denis Pioline, his children, had both been members of the Racing Club de France, of which Adriana Pioline had enjoyed success after her arrival in France. With a degree in architecture, she turned to teaching physical education.