There have been periods when tennis players from Africa have been listed high on world rankings or at major tournaments. South Africa alone has produced many fine players, including Grand Slam winner Johan Kriek and regular top 10-ranked players such as Wayne Ferreira, Kevin Curren, Kevin Anderson and Amanda Coetzer.

Kevin Anderson of South Africa. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Christophe Petit Tesson)

In doubles, the likes of Gordon Forbes and Frew McMillan and the great Sandra Reynolds excelled, as did the Zimbabwean siblings Cara, Byron and Wayne Black. Cara Black held the world’s doubles No 1 ranking for 163 weeks.

Further afield, Egypt’s Ismail El Shafei was the first man from North Africa to break through to the world stage in the early 1970s, and Morocco’s Younes El Aynaoui reached a top ranking of 14 in the world in 2003.

It’s a smallish sample size from such a huge continent and it’s shrinking even further. Africa is languishing in a sport in which just about every other continent is thriving. Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur remains Africa’s highest-ranked tennis player — female or male — at No 9 in the world.

Ons Jabeur of Tunisia. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Justin Lane)

You have to go down to No 72 to find the next highest-ranked African player, Egypt’s Mayar Sherif. And that’s it in the top 100 in the world: two players from Africa in the women’s side of the sport.

As an example of how far behind Africa is falling, war-torn Ukraine has 13 female players in the top 400 in the world. Thailand, hardly a tennis superpower, has four players in the top 500.

On the men’s side, it’s worse. South Africa’s Lloyd Harris is the highest-ranked African player at 171. Tunisia’s Aziz Dougaz is the second-highest, at 241.

More involvement

“There needs to be more involvement from people within the tennis ecosystem with Africa and South Africa to help grow the sport,” Novak Djokovic told Daily Maverick at the 2024 Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid, Spain, last week.

“Of course, there is huge potential in Africa and we know that we can’t compete with football. But tennis is a global sport with more than 100 years of history and played in more than 60 countries.

“I think it is important that there is an overall strategy towards growing tennis in Africa from people in the game. But also, on a micro level, visits from myself, [Rafa] Nadal, [Roger] Federer, Serena [Williams], whoever, are going to go a long way to helping grow the sport.”

Djokovic, the winner of 24 singles Grand Slam titles and statistically the greatest player of any era, said that Africa intrigued him, although he has never visited it. It’s something he wants to change.

“I intend to go in the very near future,” he said. “I have always been intrigued by Africa and African countries, and I really want to explore and experience them. You never know, maybe through Laureus and with Laureus I can do something there — a foundation combining mine with another. I don’t have the answer but, it’s a good thought.

“Tennis deserves to be grown on the continent and particularly in South Africa, which has traditionally had tennis and some big names. The most recent one is Kevin Anderson, whom I played in the Wimbledon final years ago. Hopefully, it can change in a positive way.”

Build the infrastructure

Although South Africa has a thriving club scene and a strong junior programme, where Tennis South Africa and the South African Tennis Association do a good job of hosting and organising tournaments, it’s still not widely accessible to all communities.

And it’s a similar story throughout the continent. Courts and equipment are much harder to build and maintain than what’s needed to play soccer, for instance.

Martina Navratilova of the US after defeating Zina Garrison in their women’s singles final at Wimbledon on 7 July 1990. (Photo: Bob Martin / Getty Images)

“I think every continent is really involved, other than Africa, which still has some catching up to do. Ons Jabeur is literally the lone African pretty much on the men’s or women’s tour,” tennis legend Martina Navratilova said at the Laureus awards.

“Girls in countries that never thought about playing tennis, like China, are now succeeding, and now we have male players from China as well. TV has just brought it to the rest of the world and the rest of the world has caught up with their tennis.

“It shouldn’t matter that you’re from the African continent to make it in tennis, but it has to be affordable. If the infrastructure is not there, it’s very difficult. It’s that simple.

“Why do we have so many amazing players from the Czech Republic? The infrastructure is built in; it’s baked in. Every little village has two or three or four tennis courts. You can play for free practically or … for a couple of hundred crowns, and then you have good coaching. And if you really love it and you progress, then the federation takes over and gives you the support.

“Opportunities are there for the players in the Czech Republic, which is why I’ve seen some of the great ones out there. It’s a long-term knock-on effect. It highlights the importance of investing in grassroots tennis,” Navratilova said.

Former Wimbledon champion Boris Becker in 2022. (Photo: Karwai Tang / WireImage)

Three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker also weighed in on the situation in Africa. “I’m with you that Africa should have … a decent tournament as well, and I’m sure we’re going to get there,” he said.

“Tennis is very expensive. You need the support of federations and a sponsorship early on to buy a couple of racquets and outfits, and travel. [But] … tennis is a truly global sport. It doesn’t matter your religion and it doesn’t matter where you’re from. It’s just whether you’re good enough.”

If Djokovic follows through and visits Africa, and possibly creates a foundation, who knows what success it might reap in the future? For now, at least, top people in the sport recognise that there is a vast, untapped talent well waiting to be unleashed.

It’s a start, but there is a long way to go for tennis in Africa. DM

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R29.