WITH all the ATP Tour and WTA Tour tournaments on hiatus for the time being, Draft Central will take a look at various nations across the globe and analyse how the top players from that nation are performing. Our next nation is Tunisia.

Top ATP player: Malek Jaziri
Rank: 261 (as of March 16, 2020)
Age: 36
Points: 181
Tournaments played: 25

Veteran Malek Jaziri is one of the more consistent Tunisian players on the circuit, and while he reached a career high ranking of 42 just last January, he has since dropped to 261st after failing to make it past the Round of 32 since early October 2019. At age 36, Jaziri is yet to win a maiden title and given his recent form he is unlikely to hit that point, having had a real opportunity last year to push for a top 40 ranking, before dropping to 103rd in August and failing to work his way back up the ranks.

Jaziri was at his most consistent over a period through November 2018 to February 2019, maintaining a ranking under 50 but ultimately unable to take advantage of the ranking, winning three of 16 matches against top 10 opponents and withdrawing from multiple matches due to injury. Regardless, Jaziri stands as the top Tunisian in ATP Rankings history, with impressive wins along the way proving he is far better than his ranking suggests.

Other notable Tunisian ATP players: Aziz Dougaz (#360), Skander Mansouri (#391), Majed Klani (#804), Aziz Ouakaa (#834), Moez Echargui (#862), Anis Ghorbel (#909)

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Top WTA player: Ons Jabeur
Rank: 39
Age: 25
Points: 1373
Tournaments played: 22

Currently the highest ranking Tunisian, Ons Jabeur is sitting at a career high ranking of 39 with an 11-5 win-loss ratio in 2020 and a real ability to challenge players ahead of her in the rankings. Jabeur has had a solid year so far with four of her 2020 victories at the Australian Open, making it to the quarter finals in an astounding effort for the then 78th-ranked player, only falling to eventual Open winner Sofia Kenin in straight sets. She was also the first Arab woman to make the Open singles quarter finals, making her a real trailblazer for the future of tennis in Tunisia. With no WTA Tour titles under her belt yet, it is only a matter of time before the fast finisher makes it past the quarter finals in 2020, having not made it to a final since the 2018 Kremlin Cup in Moscow.

While Jabeur has hit 44 aces in 2020 she was also hit 41 double faults, proving that while the hard-hitter can be a real forced to be reckoned with – with a 67.3 per cent winning rate on her first serve – she can also be her own worst enemy at times. 2019 was Jabeur’s third top 100 season, and if recent form is anything to go by she is on the rise to finish ahead of her 2019 form (finishing the season at number 77) and well and truly make a break for the top 30.

Other notable Tunisian WTA players: Chiraz Bechri (#998)

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Summary:

Jabeur seems to be Tunisia’s top prospect for a breakthrough title, though if Jaziri can work his way back up through the ranks he could be a real test for younger players looking to rule out the veterans. Look for Jabeur’s name in 2020.