Guided by a Grand Slam champion, Coulibaly looks to make Africa proud
Eliakim Coulibaly plays with his heart.
A tall, 18-year-old left-hander from the Ivory Coast, Coulibaly is hardly the only player with that trait in a fiercely competitive sport, but it is an asset that defines both his progress so far and his potential to go a very long way in tennis.
Driven by an intense desire to make his family proud and to improve their financial situation, there’s a determination about Coulibaly that suggests he could be the one to put African tennis back on the map – and certainly prove a role model for other black African players in a sport that is so evidently lacking their involvement in its upper echelons.
“I fight for every ball. I never give up,” said Coulibaly of his defining characteristics in a call with itftennis.com this week. “Nothing comes easy. I know where I come from and I know where I want to go.”
That clearly plotted pathway has already passed its first landmark. Last week in Monastir, Coulibaly reached his first final on the ITF World Tennis Tour in just his eighth professional tournament – and sixth event since leaving the junior tour behind at 2020 Roland Garros. In beating Omar Giacalone and Maximilian Neuchrist, he overcame two players who have ranked inside the world’s Top 350.
“It’s been great,” said Coulibaly. “I’ve been here in Tunisia for three weeks. The first tournament I made first round, the second I made quarters and in the third I made the final. I’ve beaten some good guys. It’s been good and I’m really happy and proud of myself.
“I was kind of expecting it,” he added. “Me and my team told ourselves that on this trip it would be nice to at least win a $15k on the five-week tour that I’m doing here in Tunisia. Even though I didn’t get the title, I’m really happy that I could make the final.”
Reaching the title match in Monastir was a key first step on the transition to the professional realm for a player who has already caught the eye of some influential figures in the sport.
Coulibaly trains at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Nice with coach Christophe Couprie, but his biggest advantage is one that is unthinkable for most talented young players, let alone one who hails from West Africa’s southern coast: he’s managed and mentored by a multiple Grand Slam champion in former Australian Open and Roland Garros winner Mary Pierce.
“It’s a blessing to have someone like Mary helping me,” he said. “She’s been doing this for many, many years, she’s won Grand Slams and she’s been helping Africa a lot. I’m really happy and I’m really lucky that she chose me. No-one would expect that! I’m really honoured to be working with her.”
Pierce, an ITF Athlete Board Member who also sits on the Billie Jean King Cup and Olympic Committees, has been able to provide Coulibaly with guidance that most young players can only dream of.
“We travel together - she’s here with me right now in Tunisia,” he said. “She comes to my practice and she’s with me everywhere I go. She brings everything. She’s been advising me about tennis. On the court and off the court. It’s a lot of stuff, not only mentoring my career… she’s like a mum to me.”
Coulibaly, who formerly trained at the ITF/CAT High Performance Tennis Centre in Casablanca and also travelled as part of the Grand Slam Development Fund Touring Team in the past, knows how fortunate he is with his current support team. But as he alluded to before, where he’s come from and where he wants to go are at opposite ends of the spectrum.
“I’m not coming from a rich family and I was not given anything that I have - I worked for it,” he said. “I put my heart towards it. My family helped me a lot to play tennis. I’m playing for my family first, because I want to help them and I want them to be proud of me.
“I want to change their financial situation. That’s where my greatest motivation comes – from my mum and dad and the rest of my family.”
Coached by his father in the early days, Coulibaly was a talented footballer (he still is - taking any opportunity to play when he can during down time at the Academy in Nice), but he made an early decision to focus on tennis.
“I chose tennis because my Dad loved the sport and I wanted him to be proud of me,” he said. “It’s really hard for my parents to follow my progress. My Dad is busy with work, but I keep them updated. I call them almost every two days. I tell them a lot about my tennis so they have an idea of what’s going on in my life.”
There’s plenty of interest in Coulibaly back home – and not just within his household. In January 2020, he and fellow emerging talent, South African teenager Khololwam Montsi - his "African brother" - made history by ensuring that two boys from Africa ranked inside the Junior Top 20 for the first time.
The Ivory Coast, South Africa, and the continent of Africa as a whole, is paying close attention to their progress.
“There’s a lot [of interest],” Coulibaly admitted. “You can see I’m the only player [from Ivory Coast] that could make it to the juniors and now trying to make it to the pros. It’s been a long time since we've had a top player. A lot of players have tried, but they haven’t had a player like me, trying his best to make it. I’ve got a lot of support from my country.”
Coulibaly’s most recent results catapulted him 116 places in the ATP rankings to a career-high No. 1198 on Monday. A disrupted start to the year has prevented him from further shrinking that number – he wasn’t able to start his 2021 season until the end of March after catching Covid-19 and getting stuck at home – but expect his ranking to tumble into triple digits in the months ahead.
With family, his country and an entire continent to play for, Coulibaly has plenty of motivation to succeed. And a mentality to match.
“I can make people in Africa believe that we can make it,” he said. “There’s a place for everyone in tennis – no matter what you have or where you come from, how many difficulties you have, or the financial problems that you face. If you really want it, you can make it.
“Tennis is a sport for everyone. If anyone wants it, anyone can do it.”