Jo-Wilfried Tsonga Petsonga (born April 17, 1985) is a French professional tennis player. Tsonga has a career high ranking of #16, achieved on March 3, 2008. Born in Le Mans, Tsonga has mixed heritage having a French mother, Evelyne, and a Congolese father, Didier Tsonga, who moved to France in the 1970s to play handball. He has a cousin Charles N'Zogbia who plays soccer for Newcastle United as a midfielder.
Tsonga recently rose to fame by virtue of his performance in the 2008 Australian Open when, as an unseeded player, he reached the final, having defeated four seeded players along the way, including earning a straight sets win over world number 2 Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Tsonga eventually lost to world number 3 Novak Đoković in the final in 4 sets, after winning the first set.
