Top Black French Tennis Players Making History
- Arthur Ashe is the father of black men’s tennis history.
- Yannick Noah is the last black man to win a Grand Slam tournament.
- Get the latest tennis news at BetUS!
While no black American male tennis player has been able to duplicate the feats of legendary three-time Grand Slam champion Arthur Ashe, the rise of black men on the ATP world tour has been quite noticeable in the more modern era – particularly when it comes to Frenchmen!

While Ashe is the undeniable father of history-making black male tennis players, in more modern times, the rise of French black male players has been quite noticeable. Starting with Yannick Noah’s 1983 French Open win over Mats Wilander, black Frenchmen have been making their mark in a sport that has seen far too little success from men with African roots.
The most notable black Frenchmen to leave indelible impressions on the sport have been the now-retired Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who reached a career-high of No. 5 in the world back in 2012. To this day, Tsonga remains the highest-ranked Frenchman of any ethnic origin. Yet, times are changing for black male French tennis players and now, a new era of black Frenchmen is set to make their marks in a sport they were once denied of participating in at all.
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King Arthur, A Great Tennis Betting Pick
Currently, 20-year-old Arthur Fils is ranked 23rd in the ATP Tour standings, and looks like he’ll become one of the Top-10 black professional tennis players soon. Fils, who turned pro in 2021, is 24-17 on the year with one title and offers today’s tennis betting enthusiasts excellent value against anyone he’s going up against.
Born in Bondoufle, France, Fils beat current World No. 4 Alexander Zverev in an epic clash in the Hamburg finals just over a week ago by dominating the third set tie-break 7-1. Coached by Sergi Bruguera and former French World No. 4 Sebastien Grosjean, Fils has won 73% of his first serves this year and an impressive 80% of his service games.
Fils reached a new career-high ranking 13 times in 2023 and became the youngest Frenchman to win an ATP Tour title since Gael Monfils in 2005 by defeating Francisco Cerundolo in Lyon. Last year, Fils became the youngest Frenchman to reach an ATP Tour semifinal since Richard Gasquet in 2004. If there will be another black Frenchman to win a Grand Slam soon, my online tennis betting bucks are on Arthur Fils pulling it off.
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Monfils Still Motoring Along
Even at the ripe old age of 37, Gael Monfils, the most athletic tennis player of all time, still plays at a high level.
A modest 18-15 in 2024, Monfils reached a career-high of No. 6 in 2016. A former World No. 1 as a junior, the Paris native has finished the year in the Top 10 twice (2016 and 2019) and eight times in the Top 20.
Monfils, who married former WTA No. 3 Elina Svitolina in 2021 has won 12 ATP Tour titles and reached at least one final in 19 consecutive seasons from 2009 to 2023. While he’s never managed to win a Grand Slam title and missed competing in 13 Grand Slam events because of injuries, Gael Monfils has had an unforgettable career that includes this jaw-dropping 360-degree overhead jump smash!
World No. 1 Iga Swiatek and World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka are WTA betting co-favorites to win the 2024 US Open!
Just check out these Gael Monfils highlights:
Make Room For Mpetshi Perricard
Make room for World No. 40 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The 21-year-old is a 6-foot-8 giant whose serve is one of, if not, the, biggest in the game today! Following Fils’ lead from a year ago, Mpetshi Perricard won his first ATP Tour title by taking home the hardware in Lyon in May as a wild card entrant no less. Just 8-4 this year, Mpetshi Perricard also recorded a huge upset win over American Ben Shelton at Queen’s Club and upset current American World No. 22 Sebastian Korda at Wimbledon by raining down an insane 51 aces.
Mpetshi Perricard bashed his way into the Top 200 in October 2023 and Top 100 in May thanks to his win as mentioned earlier over Tomas Etcheverry. If you’re looking for upset tennis betting value moving forward, look no further than at the former junior World No. 4!
Questions Of The Day
Did you know that only two black men have won Grand Slams on the ATP Tour?
The legendary Arthur Ashe won three slams (1968 US Open, 1970 Australian Open, 1975 Wimbledon) and Yannick Noah (1983 French Open).
Who was the first black tennis player?
Althea Neale Gibson was an American tennis player and one of the first black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis.