Africa’s connection to tennis is growing, with many players from the continent making significant strides in Grand Slam tournaments. Despite major obstacles like poor infrastructure and lack of access to high-level coaching, African players have continued to achieve success in the four tennis majors, which are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. All thanks to the pioneering African tennis players who broke barriers and helped put the continent on the tennis map. The pioneering achievements of these groundbreaking players in the most prestigious tournaments in professional tennis have shown that with right support, African players can excel globally.
David Samaai was the first South African to play at Wimbledon in 1949, he was then 21. He may well be the first black or African tennis player from anywhere in the world to qualify for Wimbledon too. He qualified again in 1951, 1954, and 1960. The peak of his performance was reaching the third round in 1954, he also played in the French open.
Three-time Grand Slam runner-up, Ons Jabeur, is credited with raising the profile of tennis across the African continent. She is the highest-ranked African tennis player in WTA and ATP rankings’ history. Nicknamed ‘The Minister of Happiness’, the 31-year-old is the first African woman to contest a major singles final. Jabeur then elevated her level in the summer of 2022, winning the 2022 Madrid Open for her biggest title, followed by two successive major finals at Wimbledon and the US Open. Reaching the world No. 2 position, Jabeur reached the Wimbledon final again the next year, before injury and form struggles led to declining results.
Zimbabwean Cara Black became the third woman in the Open Era to complete the career Grand Slam in mixed doubles (after Martina Navratilova and Daniela Hantucho Hantuchová) by winning the 2010 Australian Open mixed doubles title. Primarily a doubles specialist, Black partnered with her brother Wayne to win the 2002 French Open and 2004 Wimbledon Championships mixed-doubles events. Cara and Wayne are from a tennis family as their father and sibling, Byron were all professional tennis players themselves. The siblings all competed mostly in doubles – Wayne was the 2001 US Open and 2005 Australian Open champion and Byron was the 1994 French Open winner.
Ismail El Shafei was one of only four players to beat Björn Borg at Wimbledon, knocking him out in the third round in 1974 (the other three were John McEnroe, Roger Taylor and Arthur Ashe). The Egyptian competed on all surfaces, (grass, clay, hardcourt, and carpet). El Shafei was the only Egyptian player to make the top 40 in Grand Prix/ATP ranking history. He retired in 1983.
Amanda Coetzer in active playing years was a “giant killer”, she was known to beating players who were ranked higher than her so often.The South African gained the nickname “The Little Assassin” by virtue of this, scoring so many upset wins in spite of her little stature of five-foot-two (1.58m).
She finished in the WTA rankings top 20 for ten consecutive seasons (1992–2001). Her highest ranking was world No. 3. She reached three Grand Slam semifinals (Australian Open 1996 and 1997, French Open 1997) and one Grand Slam doubles final (US Open 1993).
Wesley Moodie is another star from South Africa who began to play tennis at an early age, he won the South African Junior Masters tournament in February 1996. Moodie, who turned professional in June 2000, played college tennis in the United States from January 1997 until May 2000. He was a ‘serve-and-volley’ specialist.
His talent was first shown when he reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2003, losing to Sebastien Grosjean, whom he beat in the United States later that year. Along with Stephen Huss, who formerly played college tennis for the Auburn Tigers, he became the first qualifier to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles championship in 2005, beating the No. 6, 9, 3, 1 & 2 seeds in the process.
Till date, Nduka Odizor, remains the highest-ever ranked Nigerian tennis player, reaching to world number 52 ranking in 1984, a feat which no Nigerian has been able to emulate ever since. Nicknamed ‘The Duke’, Odizor graced all the Grand Slams in his active professional years. Odizor’s competitive tennis experience began in 1978 after he was recruited to be on the Cougars tennis team at the University of Houston in Texas. During his career, Odizor competed at all the Grand Slam tournaments. Odizor reached the round of 16 with partner Tony Momoh at the 1987 Australian Open men’s doubles event. In 1988, Odizor and Momoh also represented Nigeria at the Seoul Olympics in South Korea, reaching the round of 32, before falling to France’s Guy Forget and Henri Leconte. Today, the ex-tennis star remains active in the tennis community as the founder of the Duke Odizor International Tennis Foundation, or “DOIT”, a nonprofit organization that provides tennis equipment to children in Nigeria.
With an increasing number of players emerging and more tournaments being hosted across the continent, it is safe to say that tennis is growing in Africa. The Confederation of African Tennis (CAT), the governing body of tennis in Africa, is working relentlessly to develop the sport by building infrastructure and promoting it throughout Africa. Today, a new generation of young players is emerging from countries that have not historically had a strong presence in the sport, showing progress in skill development and competitiveness.
References:
- “Top 15 Best African Tennis Players of All Time” THERAS Zaire 13 April 2025.
- Reem, Abulleil “How Ons Jabeur helped bring WTA tennis to Tunisia”. Arab News. 3 October 2022.
- Lerman, Sy “Kevin Anderson first SA tennis player in Top 10 in 18 years” Times Live. 12 October 2015.
- “Linky Boshoff’s Tennis Career and Wimbledon Achievements” Golden Age Of Tennis Clubhouse.
- Tumaini Carayol “Like a marathon: Africa’s tennis talents tread long road to success” The Guardian 27 March 2024.
- Phillip Corry “Huge challenges affect tennis in East Africa – Ntwali” Kawowo Sports 10 July 2013.
- Adams Moses “Top 10 African Tennis Players of All Time” SPORTBLOT 19 September 2025
- ATP Staff “Tour Veterans Anderson, Paire Cruise In US Open Qualifying” 2024 ATP Tour 23 August 2023.
- Nduka Odizor INTERNATIONAL TENNIS ALL OF FAME ATP PROFILE
