Tennis   Jahill Mathiot selected to be part of Team Africa |15 December 2022

Jahill Mathiot (right) with a fellow participant

Young local tennis player Jahill Mathiot has been selected among other players to be part of Team Africa.

This follows his participation in a training camp along with young tennis hopefuls held from October 28 to November 1 at the Sofitel Hôtel Ivoire sports complex in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

Initiated by Sam Aliassime of the Aliassime Academy based in Canada, the training is organised in partnership with the Ivorian Tennis Federation with the aim of detecting talented players and training them to become world class players.

Mathiot has said that “the training was tough, nonetheless, I managed to improve my techniques and I will put more emphasis on my fitness”.

The 11-year-old who has just completed primary six at Plaisance school was accompanied by coach Steven Rideau-Mein who said “the training camp was a fruitful one”.

He added that both Jahill and himself have learned new techniques and drills.

Mathiot’s airfares and stay in Abidjan was fully sponsored by the organising committee.

Before leaving for the training camp, Mathiot, who has been playing since he was in primary one and whose favourite player is Novak Djokovic, said his wish is to become a professional player.

Tennis coach Sam Aliassime is the father of Canadian ATP Tour star Felix Auger-Aliassime whom he coached until the age of 12.

Born in Togo before immigrating to Canada, Sam Aliassime was awarded the title of coach of the year 2019 by Tennis Canada.

He is the owner of the Aliassime Academy in Quebec City, where his son Felix has been and where many promising players train. He teaches them discipline, perseverance, and hard work while allowing them to develop.

Sam Aliassime’s son Felix Aliassime is the second-youngest player ranked in the top 10 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), and has a career-high singles ranking of No. 8, which he achieved on August 21, 2022. He has won three singles titles and one doubles title on the ATP Tour.

Gerard Govinden