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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Photo by Carine06.

Top 10 Interesting Facts about Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is a French tennis player known for his flair and explosive game. Tsonga has been a consistent threat to all the top men’s tennis players over the last decade.

Tsonga won the US Open junior singles title in 2003 and was named the ATP Newcomer of the Year in 2007. He rose to prominence after reaching the final of the 2008 Australian Open as an unseeded player, defeating four seeded players (including world No. 2 Rafael Nadal). He then won his first Masters title at the 2008 Â鶹APP Masters and advanced to the final of the 2011 ATP Finals. Tsonga won silver in men’s doubles with Michal Llodra at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

At the 2014 Canadian Open, he won his second Masters title after defeating four top-ten players. Tsonga also reached the finals of the Â鶹APP Masters in 2011 and the Shanghai Masters in 2015. He won the Shanghai Masters doubles title in 2009 with Julien Benneteau. Tsonga helped France win the Davis Cup for the first time in 16 years in 2017, after finishing second in 2014. He announced his retirement from the sport after the 2022 French Open.

1. Tsonga had a successful junior career

Tsonga made his junior debut at a grade 2 tournament in the Netherlands in July 2000, when he was 15 years old. He had a very successful junior career, winning the US Open boys’ singles title in 2003 by defeating Marcos Baghdatis in the final, and losing in the other three Grand Slam events that year. On October 13, 2003, Tsonga achieved his career-high boys’ singles ranking of world no. 2.

Tsonga made his professional debut in 2004. He won three singles qualifying matches at the 2004 China Open in September of that year to reach the ATP Tour singles main draw for the first time in his career; in the main draw, he upset former French Open singles champion, former No. 1 and top seed Carlos Moyá in the first round before losing to Lee Hyung-taik in the second round. 

2. In the last 20 years, he is the only Frenchman to reach a Grand Slam final

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Photo by Tatiana.

Tsonga started his 2008 Australian Open campaign with a tough first-round match against ninth seed Andy Murray, which he won in four sets. Tsonga then advanced to the semifinals by defeating Sam Warburg and Guillermo Garcia-López, Richard Gasquet, and Mikhail Youzhny.

He delivered a strong performance in the semifinals, defeating second seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets. He didn’t face a break point on his serve until the third set, and he broke the Spaniard five times.

The victory qualified him for his first Grand Slam final, where he was defeated in four sets by No. 3 Novak Djokovic. Tsonga was the only player in the tournament to defeat Djokovic in a set. Following the tournament, he rose to a career-high ranking of No. 18.

3. Tsonga currently lives in Switzerland

Tsonga was born in France, but now resides in Switzerland. His parents, Didier, who is from Congo and used to play handball, and Evelyn, who is French, are both teachers.

Tsonga was a talented junior player who won the US Open boys’ title and rose to World No. 2 in 2003. He turned pro a year later, but due to injuries, he didn’t make his Grand Slam debut until 2008, when he reached the Australian Open final.

4. His nickname is Ali

Tsonga was nicknamed ‘Ali’ because of his resemblance to boxing legend Muhammad Ali, and he even played on that in his early years by imitating Ali’s celebration style.

5. Tsonga named his son after boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard

Sugar Ray Leonard. Photo by Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com.

Tsonga began dating Noura El Shwekh in late 2014. While they were dating, she frequently accompanied him on the ATP tour. Tsonga announced in November 2016 that the couple was expecting their first child. Sugar, who was named after boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard, was born on March 17, 2017.

Tsonga and El Shwekh married on July 21, 2018, at the Château de Bagnols which was built in the 13th century and is located in the Rhône department.

Tsonga’s Twitter account posted photos of the couple’s wedding ceremony on the afternoon of Monday, July 23, 2018, with the caption, “We are family.” 

6. He has the most career prize money in ATP or WTA history for a French player

His $22.4 million is the 18th-highest ATP total and the highest for a Frenchman. Amelie Mauresmo has the highest salary for a Frenchwoman at $15 million.

7. He’s one of only three players who have defeated the top four tennis players

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Photo by si.robi.

He defeated Murray and Nadal at the 2008 Australian Open, Djokovic at the 2010 Australian Open, and Federer twice at Wimbledon and Roland Garros, in 2011 and 2013. This feat was also accomplished by Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych.

8. Tsonga switched to Babolat

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga agreed to join racket giants Babolat, leaving Wilson in his wake. This was during the off season in 2009. He was using a Babolat AeroPro Drive+ racket before switching to the Babolat Pure Strike in July 2018. His strings are made of LUXiLON Alu Power Rough.

Adidas provides him with his sportswear.

9. He was trained by various coaches at various times

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Photo by Yann Caradec.

Eric Winogradsky was his tennis coach from 2004 to 2011. Roger Rasheed was his tennis coach from 2012 to 2013, Nicolas Escude from 2013 to 2015, Thierry Ascione from 2013 to 2018, and Sergi Bruguera is his current tennis coach.

Sergi Bruguera, I Torner is a former tennis player from Spain. He won the French open men’s singles title in 1993 and 1994. His current tennis coach is Richard Gasquet.

10. Tsonga’s tennis career came to an end with an emotional French Open farewell

Tsonga’s retirement announcement, made just before the French Open, came as no surprise. In his final years, he has suffered numerous injuries, which have caused his movement and athleticism to deteriorate. He arrived in Â鶹APP ranked 297th, having gone 4-17 since the beginning of 2021. Nonetheless, he shone for a brief moment on a court that has inspired him throughout his career.

He couldn’t serve or hit forehands properly, and as everything fell apart, he hit his own head and began to cry. Tsonga was unable to compete and lost 11 of his final 12 points. Tsonga hugged Ruud at the net, then tossed his racket and returned to the center of the court, kissing the thick clay one last time.