Coulibaly's developmental backstory resurfaces after making history
There were incredible scenes in Abidjan at the weekend as Eliakim Coulibaly made history by becoming the first player from Cote d’Ivoire to win a title on the ATP Challenger Tour.
Coulibaly defeated Tunisia’s Aziz Dougaz 6-7(3) 6-4 6-4 in the final to claim the 10th professional title of his career but his first above ITF World Tennis Tour level.
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Global tennis development is a key purpose of the ITF and much of the ITF’s work in this area centres upon bettering tennis in developing tennis nations and nations which are more under-resourced than others.
Coulibaly's development has benefited over the years from various support programmes, while he is another graduate of the ITF player pathway.
He attended the ITF/CAT Training Centre when based in Morocco – a high-performance regional development programme that works with and improves emerging talent – for a large proportion of his teenage years.
More recently, he is a four-time grant recipient through the ITF-operated Grand Slam Player Development Programme, with the $62,500 of support aiding his ongoing progression as a professional player.
The 22-year-old also travelled as part of the Touring Team programme, which is operated by the ITF with support from the Grand Slams, when he won M25 Maputo on the ITF World Tennis Tour in November.