MELBOURNE: While the spotlight in men’s tennis shines on stars like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, a vast majority of professionals spend their careers far from packed stadiums, travelling week to week just to stay afloat. Tunisia’s Moez Echargui has lived that reality — and is now being rewarded for refusing to let go.
A year ago, Echargui was ranked around 500 in the world, earning a modest $2,160 for an ITF title in Monastir. Today, the 30-year-old stands at a career-best 134 and is preparing for his first Australian Open qualifying campaign, a milestone that once seemed beyond reach.
“Just walking into Melbourne Park to collect my accreditation was emotional,” Echargui told Reuters. “Seeing the AO everywhere, I thought, ‘I’ve really made it here.’ It felt like being a kid again.”
For the Milan-based player, who also holds a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Nevada, the jump from the Challenger circuit to a Grand Slam environment has been striking. “Here, everything is taken care of — food, transport, laundry. There are people to help with everything. It makes life feel simple,” he said.
That sense of ease contrasts sharply with the path that brought him to Melbourne. Despite being close to the top 100 as a junior, injuries and financial constraints forced Echargui to slow his tennis ambitions and focus on education before committing fully to the professional tour in 2017.
