The 25-year-old triumphed in the last three editions of the tournament in Nigeria, Sudan and Kenya respectively. 

She is the top seed in the women's competition, set to begin tomorrow at the Salle Multidisciplinaire de Radés in the Tunisian capital. 

Meshref's main opponent is expected to be Offiong Edem of Nigeria, the second seed and three-time Olympian. 

"I think it is more challenging for any player to win the title," Meshref said.

"But for me I just need to focus on my game in the tournament with the hope of achieving new things. 

"I am going to play my game and hope that I can do better."

In the men's contest, Omar Assar is back to defend his title, but is only seeded fourth. 

Aruna Quadri is the favourite instead, with the Nigerian currently the highest ranked African player in the world. 

Another contender is 40-year-old Ahmed Saleh of Egypt, who is the second seed. 

"I think when I won the title in the 1990s, it was a bit easy but today it is much harder because of the kind of players we have in Africa now," Saleh said. 

"They are all among the best in the world and I must admit that anybody that wins here will know that he worked hard for it."

Competition gets underway tomorrow with the group stages, followed by the quarter and semi-finals on Tuesday (February 25). 

Action then concludes on Wednesday (February 26) with the men's and women's finals.