One of France’s top young players has confirmed that he will no longer be representing the country from 2021 onwards.
Elliot Benchetrit confirmed on Christmas Day that he has decided to change his sporting allegiance to Morocco with hopes to represent the country in both the Davis cup and Olympic Games. The 22-year-old was born in the French city of Nice but his father was born in the African country which makes him eligible to switch countries. Although he is not giving up his French connections completely.
“Playing for Morocco, my father’s birthplace, is going to be an honour,” Le Figaro quoted Benchetrit as writing on Instagram. “Representing this country in the Davis Cup and the Olympics will be just as much.’
“I remain French but, on a tennis court, I will play in the colours of Morocco. I thank France for all its help and support in my development, but to find the “step” above, something must be changed.”
Benchetrit is currently ranked 23rd in the world which is 25 places below his career high. So far in his career he has won three Futures titles in Tunisia with his last occurring back in 2018. However, he has made five Grand Slam main draw appearances with his best result being at the 2019 French Open where he defeated Cameron Norrie in the first round.
This season he has achieved a win rate of 38%, according to the ITF. Winning nine out of 24 matches played. However, he hasn’t won back-to-back main draw matches at any tournament in 2020.
When the switch formally comes into effect, Benchetrit will become the top ranked male player from Morocco. At present the country’s No.1 is Adam Moundir who is currently ranked 498th in the world and is only one of four players to be in the top 1000. To put that into context, Benchetrit currently ranks 22nd among French players.
