Top 10 African Tennis Players of All Time

Brief Summary

• The list showcases legends from Ismail El Shafei to Ons Jabeur, showcasing pioneers who broke barriers in world tennis.
• South Africa dominates historically with players like Wayne Ferreira, Amanda Coetzer, and Kevin Anderson, while Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur leads the modern era.
• Icons like Cara Black of Zimbabwe and Younes El Aynaoui of Morocco reflect Africa’s diverse contributions to global tennis.

Deep Dive!!

Lagos, Nigeria—A slow but encouraging rise in talent from the African continent has been observed in tennis, a sport that is traditionally dominated by players from Europe, North America, and Australia.

Despite major obstacles, players from Africa's varied landscapes have inspired generations and challenged the status quo. However, African tennis is characterised by tenacity. These sportsmen have left their mark on the history of the sport, from the booming serves of South Africa's Kevin Anderson to the elegant baseline artistry of Tunisia's Ons Jabeur.

In this article, we will focus on the top 10 African tennis players of all time, drawing from their peak achievements, longevity and consistency in the sport.

10. Ismail El Shafei (Egypt)

Ismail El Shafei started as a rising star in the 1960s and 1970s. He was born in Cairo, Egypt, in 1947. By the time it was 1974, Ismail had advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals and peaked at about No. 34 in his career, becoming the first African player to rank in the top 40 in 1975.

At the early stages of his career, Ismail won the 1964 Wimbledon junior title, already showing early signs of greatness. The pinnacle of his six ATP victories was defeating Björn Borg in the third round of the 1974 Wimbledon Championships. Before retiring in 1983, he earned $1.2 million and made it to the French Open quarterfinals in 1975.

His impact extends beyond his performance on the court. Ismail El Shafei paved the way for North American tennis development, held leadership positions at ITF, and served as coach and captain of Egypt's Davis Cup team.

9. Younes El Aynaoui (Morocco)

Younes El Aynaoui was born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1971. He attended Nick Bollettieri's academy and was already ranked at No. 14 in 2003. He is best known for his late career achievements and significant victories at majors and the Masters tournaments. 

His three Australian Open quarterfinal defeats to Andy Roddick in a 21-19 fifth set are one of tennis' longest hours, as the game took four hours and twenty-eight minutes, and his five ATP titles pale in comparison. Younes El Aynaoui also reached the US Open quarterfinals in 2002, the furthest a Moroccan player had ever advanced in a Grand Slam. 

He also won three titles in 2002 (Casablanca, Doha, and Munich) and was a five-time Grand Slam quarterfinalist. El Aynaoui retired in 2007 after earning $4 million over the span of two decades. It is safe to refer to him as a pioneer of North African tennis as Morocco’s best player, opening the way to Jabeur.

8. Wayne Ferreira (South Africa)

Born in Johannesburg in 1971, Wayne Ferreira was a mainstay of the ATP Tour in the 1990s and 2000s. He had a strong presence in Grand Slams and Davis Cup matches, winning 26 career singles titles, and peaked at No.6 in 1995. Ferreira won a silver medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and appeared at the Grand Slam 56 consecutive times in his career.

He also achieved world No. 9 in doubles, reached the Australian Open semi-finals twice, and held a positive head-to-head record against Pete Sampras and John McEnroe. Among his legacies is a positive win record against Federer and six victories over Pete Sampras. He captained South Africa's Davis Cup squad and retired in 2005 with $7.7 million in his retirement.

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7. Kevin Anderson (South Africa)

Kevin Anderson was born in 1968 in Johannesburg. Credit is due to Anderson for aiding in returning African men to the Grand Slam due to his big-stage runs. By 2007, Kevin Anderson was already a pro after achieving tremendous success at the University of Illinois. 

By 2018, he achieved a career-high ATP world No. 5 and appeared in two major finals; one was the 2017 US Open, where he played five sets against Rafal Nadal and the 2018 Wimbledon final, where he played four sets against Novak Djokovic, following a historic 6-13-14 set semifinal victory over John Isner, becoming the first player from Africa to reach the ATP Finals semifinals.

Kevin Anderson won seven ATP Tour singles finals and was inducted into the University of Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame. Early in 2025, he announced his second retirement at the age of 38. His 15-year journey saw a  $13.6 million win. He had retired in 2022 due to injuries, but he made a brief comeback in 2023.

6. Sandra Reynolds (South Africa)

Born in Johannesburg in 1934, Sandra Reynolds pioneered women’s tennis in Africa. She was especially active in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and during this time, she won five Grand Slam titles; one mixed in the 1959 Wimbledon with Bob Mark and four doubles (1959 US, 1960-61 French, and 1961 Wimbledon).

She peaked at No. 3 that year and became the only South African woman to advance to the Wimbledon singles final in 1960, losing to Maria Bueno. Reynolds won 11 singles and 12 doubles titles, and after retiring in 1962, she coached and promoted tennis.

5. Amanda Coetzer (South Africa)

Amanda Coetzer was born in Brandfort, South Africa, in 1971. She defied odds and expectations at just  5'2", which earned her the nickname "The Little Assassin." She went pro in 1988 and quickly rose to prominence as one of South Africa’s leading women of the modern age.

She reached three Grand Slam semifinals: the Australian Open and the French Open, and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No.3 in 1997. Amanda spent a decade in the world's top 20, an amazing feat for a South African on the WTA Tour. She defeated taller opponents like Mary Pierce, Jana Novotná, and Steffi Graf three times before reaching the 1995 Canadian Open final.

In the Open Era, she became the first female South African to advance to a Grand Slam semifinal. Coetzer also competed for South Africa in three Olympic Games and won the Hopman Cup in 2000. Coetzer won nine WTA singles titles, but her $3.8 million career came to an end due to injuries when she retired in 2004.

4. Kevin Curren (South Africa)

Born in Pretoria in 1958, Kevin Curren took an interest in tennis and cricket before ultimately settling for tennis. He began his professional career at the University of Texas by winning the 1979 NCAA singles championship. He went on to make it to two Grand Slam finals: the 1984 Australian Open, where he lost to Mats Wilander, and the 1985 Wimbledon, where he defeated Boris Becker in the semifinals but lost to Ivan Lendl. He won two Grand Slam singles finals and four Grand Slam doubles titles.

Curren achieved a top ranking of No. 5 in 1985 and won eight ATP singles titles before becoming a naturalised American in 1985. He also won the NCAA singles championship in 1979 and multiple other titles in both singles and doubles during his career. He retired from tennis in 1991 with his earnings of $3.4 million.

3. Johan Kriek (South Africa)

Born in 1958 in Pretoria, South Africa, Johan Kriek spent his early career representing his country before moving to the United States in the late 1970s during apartheid boycotts and became a naturalised citizen in 1982.

He won consecutive Australian Open championships in 1981 and 1982 before obtaining U.S. citizenship, and reached a career-high world singles ranking of No. 7 in 1984. He turned pro in 1978 and won 14 singles and 8 doubles titles, with his major achievements including reaching the semifinals of the French Open and US Open, and the quarterfinals of Wimbledon. 

Kriek also played on the ATP Champions Tour, reaching the No. 1 ranking in singles and doubles. Following his retirement in 1990, he coached stars like Aaron Krickstein.

2. Cara Black (Zimbabwe)

Cara Black, who was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, in 1979, remains one of the best on the continent to ever grace the game. Coming from a family of ATP pros (her brothers, Wayne and Byron), she quickly turned pro in 1998, earning a mixed doubles career Grand Slam, one of just three women in the Open Era to do so (with Martina Navratilova and Daniela Hantuchová).

Among Black's ten Grand Slam victories are five in women's doubles (2002 French Open, 2004 Wimbledon and US Open, 2007 Australian Open, 2008 French Open) and five in mixed (2000 US Open, 2002 French Open with Wayne, 2004 Wimbledon with Wayne, 2008 US Open, 2009 Australian Open). 

Cara Black has a record of 60 WTA double titles and held the WTA doubles No. 1 ranking for 163 weeks and spent 569 weeks in the top 10, a record of endurance. She retired with $4.5 million in profits after an amazing career in 2015 and has coached players like Johanna Konta. 

1. Ons Jabeur (Tunisia)

The most accomplished African tennis player of the Open Era is Ons Jabeur, born in 1994 in Ksar Hellal, Tunisia. She became the first Arab and African woman to make it to the Grand Slam finals (Wimbledon 2022, 2023; US Open 2022), achieved a career-high WTA world No. 2 (June 2022), and won six WTA titles, including a WTA 1000 in Madrid. She is also the first Arab woman to win a WTA title and reach the top 10 in the world rankings.

By 2025, Jabeur announced that she will be taking an indefinite break from the game, following early withdrawals from the French Open and Wimbledon, to focus on her health. However, her legacy is safe at age 31 with a potential return on sight since she has inspired a new generation of North African talent and won over $10 million in prize money.