African tennis is on the rise - driven by the ATP Challenger Tour 

When Eliakim Coulibaly won his maiden ATP Challenger title on home soil, it wasn't just a personal milestone - but a landmark moment for African tennis. The 22-year-old lifted the Côte d’Ivoire Open 2 trophy in Abidjan last month, becoming the first player from his country to win a Challenger title. Coulibaly defeated top seed Aziz Dougaz in the final, closing the match on his serve before falling onto his back in joy as the home crowd erupted in applause.

The victory propelled Coulibaly 53 places up the ATP Rankings to World No. 271, marking a new career high. “It’s an incredible feeling to win at home,” Coulibaly said. “The support all week really helped me. To be the first Ivorian to achieve this is very special.”

Read more: Eliakim Coulibaly makes ATP Challenger Tour history as first champion from Ivory Coast

The fruits of hard work

In 2021, he clinched his first title on the Pro Circuit in Monastir. Eight more triumphs should follow in Tunisia. Last November, Coulibaly claimed his first ITF World Tennis Tour 25K title. His growth as a player has been shaped by several support programs over the years, including his progression through the ITF’s player development pathway.

During his teenage years, Coulibaly spent significant time at the ITF/CAT Training Centre in Morocco - a regional high-performance hub focused on nurturing and advancing rising talent. Now, with a Challenger trophy in his hands and his ranking climbing, the left-hander is poised to push further into the professional ranks - carrying the hopes of a continent eager for new tennis heroes.

"Winning here is also the result of hard work and fills me with pride," Coulibaly said. "I hope that my victory at home will help shift some of the attention from football to tennis. It should also show young players that success is possible," added the Ivorian, who named competing in the Grand Slam tournaments as his major goal.

Arzel Mevellec: Challenger Tennis in Africa

Coulibaly’s breakthrough comes at a pivotal moment for tennis in Africa, as the ATP Challenger Tour returned to sub-Saharan Africa after more than three decades. His title in Abidjan follows the establishment of new Challenger tournaments in Kigali, Rwanda and Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, driven by French tournament director Arzel Mevellec and his team.

“I have my tournament in Quimper, a city situated on the west coast of France in Brittany,” Mevellec explained during the second edition of the Rwanda Challenger earlier this season. “One of my best friends went to Roland Garros and met a businessman from Rwanda. He asked if he knew someone who would be crazy enough to come to Kigali and think about organizing a professional tennis tournament. I directly called the ATP, and the director called me back after two minutes just to say: ‘If you go there, we will provide you with all the prize money and you will not pay a fee to organize a tournament.’ The ATP has spent more than $500,000 in the last two years.”

Mevellec described Africa as “a great subject of development for tennis,” noting that since 1990, there had been no Challenger tournaments in sub-Saharan Africa. “North African countries like Tunisia and Morocco are well connected to Europe. They have a couple of tournaments and many players. But in sub-Saharan Africa? Nothing.”

Small challenges – Big impact

Organizing professional tennis in the region brings unique challenges. “You are able to organize tournaments in France totally disconnected from the clubs. In Africa, you need to be connected to the local clubs. I think it’s just a matter of culture,” Mevellec said. “We want to organize something like we did in Quimper, where the tournament has grown over the past years. We also want to support the locals, but we need to respect all the standards and ATP rules.”

Sometimes, small details pose unexpected obstacles. “We struggle with details, for example food. For the locals it’s often not that important but we need to provide special things for the players. Sometimes it’s difficult to obtain what we want. We need to wait too long,” he explained.

Every day I go to the players’ restaurant and explain that the pasta is overcooked. That’s something quite easy to obtain in Europe but they have to learn, and they want to learn. That’s very important.

The grand vision: An African tournament series

Despite the challenges, Mevellec sees strong potential in the region. “Africa is becoming a key focus,” he said.

I hope to create a tournament swing on the East African clay, like six weeks in a row with Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda after the Australian Open, using clubs with good infrastructure.

"On the western coast, we would like to have some hard-court events. I hope that in the future Brazzaville will take place on hard courts as well. It would be great to establish tournaments in Gabon, Togo, Ivory Coast and Senegal for example on hard courts during the clay-court season in Europe.”

For Mevellec, it’s not just about business. “I hope that my local partner will become the tournament director within the next few years. I hope to come and just see the improvements - that they are able to develop the tournament by themselves,” he said. “In the past the French were good in giving advice to people all over the world. I am not like this. I just want to share my experience with local people because there are many with a lot of talent here.”

A symbol for the future

Coulibaly’s triumph in Abidjan is more than a personal milestone - it’s a symbol of the opportunities now opening for tennis players and fans across Africa. As the Challenger Tour plants roots in new regions, players like Coulibaly are showing what’s possible.

“I use the support from the ATP for my income, which means that I spent money in all of the countries but never received money from them,” Mevellec reflected. “I think we’re on the right path. The players are happy. The fans are happy. And we’re proving it can be done.”