| Venue: Roland Garros, Paris Dates: 28 May-11 June |
| Coverage: Live text and radio commentaries of selected matches across BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, the BBC Sport website and app |
Mayar Sherif says people told her to her face that it is “impossible to be a good tennis player from Egypt”.
The world number 55, who recently reached the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open, has also revealed that her tennis “obsession” – something that runs in her family – drives her on to prove the doubters wrong.
“I use that negative energy, it gives me a motivation,” she told BBC Sport.
“I’m going to prove you wrong, I’m going to show you that I can.”
The 27-year-old, who was born in Cairo, made history in 2020 when she became the first Egyptian woman to reach the first round of a Grand Slam, winning the first set of her debut match at the French Open before ultimately losing to number two seed Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic.
Her performance even caught the eye of Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who praised her on Twitter.
Three years later, Sherif is gearing up for another first round match at Roland Garros, this time against American Madison Brengle.
“I have loved the French (Open) since I was young,” she said.
“This is the tournament where it just (first) caught my eye.”
A family ‘obsession’
Sherif’s career trajectory has seen slow but steady improvement.
In 2021, she became the first Egyptian woman to win a match at a Grand Slam, beating France’s Chloe Paquet at the Australian Open, and also entered the world’s top 100 for the first time.
A year later she won her first match at the French Open before defeating Greece’s Maria Sakkari to win a first WTA Tour title at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Italy – all impressive achievements for someone from humble beginnings in Africa.
“We didn’t have much to work with (growing up). We didn’t have money, we didn’t have any financial support.”
What she did have was the committed backing of her tennis-mad family.
“My parents just love tennis. They made us watch tennis since we were really young.
“My older sister started when she was five – and that’s how I started, with her as well.
“But yeah, my parents are pretty much obsessed.”
That older sister, Rana Sherif Ahmed, is also now a professional player, so it is hardly surprising…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at BBC Sport – Tennis…