The 2025 men’s tennis season has really been all about the exciting rivalry between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz has put together an amazing season, winning eight titles, which includes both the French Open and the US Open, and racking up an impressive 67 match wins on the tour. Sinner, the current world No. 1, is really making waves with an impressive 53-6 record. He’s successfully defended his Australian Open title and even snagged his first Wimbledon crown.

Their intense rivalry for the number one position and the biggest awards has really shaped the story of the year. In a surprising and inspiring turn of events, the story of a 32-year-old Tunisian player, Moez Echargui, has caught the eye of the tennis world, showing that success in the sport isn’t just about the incredible feats of its two biggest stars.

According to an X post from journalist José Morgado, “32-year-old Moez Echargui is playing his first career ATP MD match in Metz, the 3rd oldest to make his ATP debut since 1990. He won 9 titles in 2025 (3 CH, 6 ITF) and entered this draw directly into R2 as LL, replacing 2nd seed Medvedev.” Furthermore, the journalist revealed a statistic, stating, “He has 71 wins (at all levels) in 2025.”

Well, Echargui’s wins surpass the season’s win totals of the two best players in the world, Sinner and Alcaraz. However, it’s not too surprising that the Tunisian was able to go beyond Sinner considering the Italian spent 3 months on the sidelines serving his doping suspension from last year. Alcaraz, on the other hand, suffered a late-season injury, causing him to miss Shanghai, and then crashed out early in Paris, though it takes nothing away from Echargui’s numbers and consistency.

Moez Echargui’s impressive numbers point to a different kind of greatness: a steady and strong performance in the tough Challenger circuit, where players have to keep winning week after week just to make a living and gain ranking points. But recently, Echargui caught a lucky break.

A first-time experience for Moez Echargui in France

Moez Echargui has been a regular on the Challenger circuit and the World Tennis Tour, but this week in Metz, the Tunisian finally got a taste of the ATP. Through a number of well-timed withdrawals, coupled with wins in the qualifying rounds, Echargui entered the draw of the Moselle Open as a lucky loser while also receiving a bye. Not only that, this marked his first ever ATP main draw match.

And in his first match he was up against none other than Learner Tien, the 19-year-old American phenom who has taken down a number of top-10 players this season, including Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Zverev, giving him the most top-10 victories this year aside from Sinner and Alcaraz.

For Echargui, this was undoubtedly one of the biggest tests of his season, but unsurprisingly, it was Tien who emerged victorious in straight sets, even though the American’s forehand and backhand looked shaky.

While Echargui couldn’t increase his win count for the season, it was a big moment nonetheless, as he became the 3rd oldest player to make their ATP debut since 1990, as Morgado noted. While Tunisian tennis is (unsurprisingly) associated primarily with Ons Jabeur, Moez Echargui is also quietly making his mark.