Misplaced Pages

Latest revision as of 18:29, 17 December 2024

Mayar Sherif
ميار شريف أحمد عبد العزيز

Sherif at the 2022 French Open
Full name	Mayar Sherif Ahmed Abdel-Aziz
Country (sports)	Egypt
Residence	Cairo, Egypt
Born	(1996-05-05) 5 May 1996 (age 28) Cairo
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
College	Pepperdine
Prize money	$2,223,698
Singles
Career record	259–138
Career titles	1 WTA, 6 WTA Challengers
Highest ranking	No. 31 (19 June 2023)
Current ranking	No. 65 (17 December 2024)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	2R (2021)
French Open	2R (2022, 2023, 2024)
Wimbledon	1R (2023, 2024)
US Open	1R (2021, 2022, 2023, 2024)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games	1R (2021, 2024)
Doubles
Career record	93–55
Career titles	1 WTA, 1 WTA Challenger
Highest ranking	No. 88 (11 July 2022)
Current ranking	No. 130 (19 August 2024)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	1R (2022, 2023)
French Open	1R (2023)
Wimbledon	2R (2024)
US Open	2R (2022)
Team competitions
Fed Cup	25–13
Medal record Representing  Egypt Women's Tennis African Games 2019 Rabat Singles 2019 Rabat Doubles 2019 Rabat Team 2023 Accra Team 2023 Accra Singles 2023 Accra Doubles
Last updated on: 22 August 2024.

Mayar Sherif Ahmed Abdel-Aziz (Arabic: ميار شريف أحمد عبد العزيز; born 5 May 1996) is an Egyptian professional tennis player. She has career-high WTA rankings of No. 31 in singles - making her the highest ranked Egyptian player in the Open Era - and No. 88 in doubles. Sherif has won one singles title on the WTA Tour and one in doubles. She has also won a record seven WTA 125 singles titles and one doubles title on the WTA Challenger Tour along with nine singles titles and six doubles titles on the ITF Women's Circuit. She is the younger sister of Rana Sherif Ahmed.

Sherif spent her final two years of college at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California, graduating in 2018 with a bachelor of science in sports medicine. She was part of the university's tennis team and was an All-American in both 2017 and 2018, and the West Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2018. She made the semifinals of the 2018 NCAA singles tournament and ended her senior season ranked 11th in the nation in singles.

Sherif made her WTA Tour singles debut at the 2020 Prague Open. She was the first Egyptian female player in a main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the 2020 French Open. She made history again for Egyptian tennis at the 2021 Australian Open, becoming the first woman from her nation to win a Grand Slam main-draw match. She became also the first Egyptian woman to qualify for the Olympic Games and reach a WTA tournament final in Cluj-Napoca. At the 2023 Madrid Open, she became the first Egyptian player to reach a WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

Playing for Egypt Billie Jean King Cup team, she has a win–loss record of 25–13 (singles 13–7; doubles 12–6) as of April 2024.

Professional

2019–2020: Historic major & WTA Tour debuts

Sherif started 2020 playing in the Australian Open qualifiers which was her first appearance at a WTA tournament. She lost in the first round of qualifiers to Ann Li. In March, she won the title at a $25k tournament in Antalya defeating Dalma Gálfi in the final.

In August, at the Prague Open Prague Open, Sherif advanced through the qualifying making her main-draw debut at WTA Tour-level. In the first round, she lost there to Laura Siegemund in three sets.

In late September 2020, Sherif defeated Camila Osorio, Caty McNally and Giulia Gatto-Monticone in the French Open qualifying. Making her Grand Slam main-draw debut as the first Egyptian female player, Sherif came up against second seed and world No. 3, Karolína Plíšková, losing in three sets.

2021: Major & WTA 1000 wins, Olympics & top 100 debut

Sherif again made history as the first Egyptian woman to win a match at a Grand Slam tournament, beating Chloe Paquet in the first round of the Australian Open.

She qualified for Indian Wells making her WTA 1000 debut, and defeated Zheng Saisai for her first win at this level. She received a wildcard for the WTA 1000 Miami Open.

Sherif delivered another highlight, when she, as the first Egyptian woman, qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, after winning the 2019 African Games.

Sherif also became the first Egyptian woman to reach a WTA Tour singles and doubles final in Cluj-Napoca. In singles, she defeated top seed Alizé Cornet, Alex Eala, Kristína Kučová and Mihaela Buzărnescu but lost to Andrea Petkovic in the final. In doubles, partnering Katarzyna Piter, she lost to Natela Dzalamidze and Kaja Juvan in the final. As a result, she entered the top 100 at world No. 97 on 9 August 2021, the first Egyptian woman to do so, and also reached a career-high in doubles at No. 154.

2022: Maiden career title, top 50 in singles & top 100 in doubles

She made her top 50 debut in singles and reached world No. 98 in doubles on 16 May 2022.

At the French Open, she became the first Egyptian woman to win a Roland Garros main-draw match, after defeating Marta Kostyuk in two sets. She withdrew in the second round due to injury.

At the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, Sherif defeated Anna Bondár, Simona Waltert, Lauren Davis, and Ana Bogdan to reach her second WTA 250 final, and her first since the previous summer. She then defeated top seed and world No. 7, Maria Sakkari, in straight sets to claim her first singles title and become the first woman from Egypt to win a WTA Tour title. The win against Sakkari was also her first top-10 win.

2023: WTA 1000 quarterfinal, record sixth WTA 125 title, historic ranking

At the 2023 Madrid Open, Sherif defeated Camila Giorgi by retirement, 30th seed Anhelina Kalinina, world No. 5 Caroline Garcia and 24th seed Elise Mertens to reach her first WTA 1000 singles quarterfinal, thus also becoming the first Egyptian player to do so.

She won her second WTA 125 title at the Open Internacional de Valencia in two weeks following her triumph at the WTA 125 Makarska International. As a result, she reached a historic career-high of No. 31 in the singles rankings, becoming the highest ranked Egyptian player, male or female, in the Open era. No other player had won more than three WTA Challenger titles since the level was introduced in 2012.

2024: Madrid and Rome third rounds, five final defeats

In April, Sherif reached the third round at the Madrid Open with wins over Lauren Davis and 25th seed Marta Kostyuk before losing to world number four Elena Rybakina.

At the start of May, she reached the final at the Catalonia Open in Lleida, Spain, where she lost to Katerina Siniaková in a match lasting almost three hours.

At the Italian Open in Rome later that month, Sherif made the third round, defeating 11th seed Jasmine Paolini on the way, before losing to 25th seed Victoria Azarenka in three sets.

The following week she lost in the final of the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, Italy, to Anna Karolína Schmiedlová. Sherif suffered similar disappointment at her next tournament, the Morocco Open, where she was defeated in the final by Peyton Stearns.

She reached the final as she attempted to defend her Makarska International title in June, but lost to Katie Volynets in three sets.

In July, Sherif was runner-up at the Grand Est Open 88 in Contrexéville, France, losing to Lucia Bronzetti in a final which lasted more than three-and-a-half hours.

As top seed at the Hamburg European Open in August, she reached the quarterfinals but was defeated by Olga Danilović.

Partnering with Anna Blinkova, Sherif won the doubles at the Jasmin Open, defeating Alina Korneeva and Anastasia Zakharova in the final.

Alongside Nina Stojanović, she won the doubles title at WTA 125 Copa LP Chile in November. Later that month Sherif won the singles title at the WTA 125 Argentina Open, defeating Katarzyna Kawa in three sets in the final.

Performance timelines

Only main-draw results in WTA Tour, Grand Slam tournaments, Billie Jean King Cup, United Cup, Hopman Cup and Olympic Games are included in win–loss records.

Singles

Current through the 2023 China Open.

Doubles

Current through the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.

WTA Tour finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Aug 2021	Winners Open, Romania	WTA 250	Clay	Andrea Petkovic	1–6, 1–6
Win	1–1	Oct 2022	Emilia-Romagna Open, Italy	WTA 250	Clay	Maria Sakkari	7–5, 6–3
Loss	1–2	May 2024	Rabat Grand Prix, Morocco	WTA 250	Clay	Peyton Stearns	2–6, 1–6

Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner–ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Aug 2021	Winners Open, Romania	WTA 250	Clay	Katarzyna Piter	Natela Dzalamidze Kaja Juvan	3–6, 4–6
Loss	0–2	Jan 2022	Melbourne Summer Set, Australia	WTA 250	Hard	Tereza Martincová	Bernarda Pera Kateřina Siniaková	2–6, 7–6,
Win	1–2	Sep 2024	Jasmin Open, Tunisia	WTA 250	Hard	Anna Blinkova	Alina Korneeva Anastasia Zakharova	2–6, 6–1,

WTA Challenger finals

Singles: 11 (7 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Sep 2021	Karlsruhe Open, Germany	Clay	Martina Trevisan	6–3, 6–2
Win	2–0	Apr 2022	Marbella Open, Spain	Clay	Tamara Korpatsch	7–6, 6–4
Win	3–0	May 2022	Karlsruhe Open, Germany (2)	Clay	Bernarda Pera	6–2, 6–4
Win	4–0	Nov 2022	Copa Colina, Chile	Clay	Kateryna Baindl	3–6, 7–6, 7–5
Win	5–0	Jun 2023	Makarska International, Croatia	Clay	Jasmine Paolini	2–6, 7–6, 7–5
Win	6–0	Jun 2023	Internacional de Valencia, Spain	Clay	Marina Bassols Ribera	6–3, 6–3
Loss	6–1	May 2024	Catalonia Open, Spain	Clay	Kateřina Siniaková	4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss	6–2	May 2024	Emilia-Romagna Open, Italy	Clay	Anna Karolína Schmiedlová	5–7, 6–2, 4–6
Loss	6–3	Jun 2024	Makarska International, Croatia	Clay	Katie Volynets	6–3, 2–6, 1–6
Loss	6–4	Jul 2024	Contrexéville Open, France	Clay	Lucia Bronzetti	4–6, 7–6, 5–7
Win	7–4	Nov 2024	Argentine Open, Argentina	Clay	Katarzyna Kawa	6-3, 4-6, 6-4

Doubles: 6 (2 titles, 4 runner-ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Sep 2021	Karlsruhe Open, Germany	Clay	Katarzyna Piter	Irina Bara Ekaterine Gorgodze	3–6, 6–2,
Win	1–1	May 2022	Karlsruhe Open, Germany	Clay	Panna Udvardy	Yana Sizikova Alison Van Uytvanck	5–7, 6–4,
Loss	1–2	Nov 2022	Copa Colina, Chile	Clay	Tamara Zidanšek	Yana Sizikova Aldila Sutjiadi	1–6, 6–3,
Loss	1–3	May 2024	Catalonia Open, Spain	Clay	Katarzyna Piter	Ellen Perez Nicole Melichar-Martinez	5-7, 2-6
Win	2–3	Nov 2024	Copa LP Chile, Chile	Clay	Nina Stojanović	Léolia Jeanjean Kristina Mladenovic	w/o
Loss	2–4	Nov 2024	Argentine Open, Argentina	Clay	Laura Pigossi	Maja Chwalińska Katarzyna Kawa	4–6, 6–3,

ITF Circuit finals

Singles: 18 (9 titles, 9 runner–ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1–0	Jan 2013	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	10,000	Hard	Aleksandrina Naydenova	6–2, 2–6, 6–1
Loss	1–1	Sep 2013	ITF Lleida, Spain	10,000	Clay	Aliona Bolsova	6–0, 3–6, 2–6
Loss	1–2	Nov 2013	ITF Vinaròs, Spain	10,000	Clay	Olga Sáez Larra	6–4, 5–7, 4–6
Loss	1–3	Jul 2017	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	15,000	Hard	Jacqueline Cabaj Awad	7–6, 5–7, 4–6
Loss	1–4	Jul 2017	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	15,000	Hard	Eleni Kordolaimi	4–6, 6–3, 2–6
Win	2–4	Feb 2019	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	15,000	Hard	Simona Waltert	6–4, 1–6, 6–3
Win	3–4	May 2019	ITF Cairo, Egypt	15,000	Clay	Simona Waltert	6–2, 6–1
Win	4–4	Jun 2019	ITF Tabarka, Tunisia	15,000	Clay	Bárbara Gatica	6–4, 6–4
Win	5–4	Jun 2019	ITF Tabarka, Tunisia	15,000	Clay	Nina Stadler	6–3, 6–2
Win	6–4	Jun 2019	ITF Madrid, Spain	25,000	Hard	Eva Guerrero Álvarez	6–2, 6–3
Loss	6–5	Jul 2019	ITF Biella, Italy	25,000	Clay	Katarina Zavatska	1–6, 3–6
Loss	6–6	Jul 2019	ITF Baja, Hungary	25,000	Clay	Réka Luca Jani	3–6, 6–2, 2–6
Win	7–6	Aug 2019	ITF Las Palmas, Spain	25,000+H	Clay	Leonie Küng	6–1, 6–0
Win	8–6	Mar 2020	ITF Antalya, Turkey	25,000	Clay	Dalma Galfi	6–4, 6–3
Win	9–6	Nov 2020	ITF Charleston Pro, United States	100,000	Clay	Katarzyna Kawa	6–2, 6–3
Loss	9–7	Nov 2020	ITF Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain	25,000	Clay	Kaia Kanepi	3–6, 2–6
Loss	9–8	Jul 2021	Open de Montpellier, France	60,000	Clay	Anhelina Kalinina	2–6, 3–6
Loss	9–9	Aug 2021	ITF San Bartolomé de Tirajana, Spain	60,000	Clay	Arantxa Rus	4–6, 2–6

Doubles: 13 (6 titles, 7 runner–ups)

Result	W–L	Date	Tournament	Tier	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	0–1	Jan 2013	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	10,000	Hard	Valeria Podda	Eugeniya Pashkova Ekaterina Yashina	6–3, 2–6,
Loss	0–2	Jun 2013	ITF Melilla, Spain	10,000	Hard	Vanda Lukács	Lucia Cervera-Vasquez Pilar Dominguez-Lopez	3–6, 4–6
Win	1–2	Jul 2013	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	10,000	Hard	Lynn Kiro	Alina Mikheeva Anna Morgina	6–3, 6–2
Win	2–2	Jul 2013	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	10,000	Hard	Zuzana Zlochová	Sowjanya Bavisetti Rishika Sunkara	7–5, 6–3
Loss	2–3	Apr 2014	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	10,000	Hard	Ola Abou Zekry	Jana Fett Oleksandra Korashvili	4–6, 5–7
Win	3–3	Jul 2017	ITF Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt	15,000	Hard	Rutuja Bhosale	Chen Pei-hsuan Wu Fang-hsien	3–6, 6–3,
Loss	3–4	Apr 2019	ITF Cairo, Egypt	15,000	Clay	Rana Sherif Ahmed	Despina Papamichail Simona Waltert	3–6, 2–6
Win	4–4	Jun 2019	ITF Tabarka, Tunisia	15,000	Clay	Alica Rusová	Lena Lutzeier Nina Stadler	6–4, 4–6,
Loss	4–5	Jul 2019	ITF Turin, Italy	25,000	Clay	Melanie Stokke	Chihiro Muramatsu Yuki Naito	0–6, 2–6
Win	5–5	Jul 2019	ITF Baja, Hungary	25,000	Clay	Melanie Klaffner	Réka Luca Jani Lara Salden	6–2, 4–6,
Loss	5–6	Feb 2020	Cairo Open, Egypt	100,000	Hard	Arantxa Rus	Aleksandra Krunić Katarzyna Piter	4–6, 2–6
Win	6–6	Mar 2020	ITF Antalya, Turkey	25,000	Clay	Réka Luca Jani	Melis Sezer İpek Öz	6–7, 6–1,
Loss	6–7	Nov 2020	ITF Charleston Pro, US	100,000	Clay	Astra Sharma	Magdalena Fręch Katarzyna Kawa	6–4, 4–6,

Head-to-head records

Record against top 10 players

• She has a 2–5 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.

Result	W–L	Player	Rank	Tournament	Surface	Rd	Score	Rank	H2H
2020
Loss	0–1	Karolína Plíšková	No. 4	French Open	Clay	1R	7–6, 2–6, 4–6	No. 172
2022
Win	1–1	Maria Sakkari	No. 7	Emilia-Romagna Open, Italy	Clay	F	7–5, 6–3	No. 74
2023
Loss	1–2	Caroline Garcia	No. 5	Monterrey Open, Mexico	Hard	QF	0–6, 4–6	No. 53
Win	2–2	Caroline Garcia	No. 5	Madrid Open, Spain	Clay	3R	7–6, 6–3	No. 59
Loss	2–3	Aryna Sabalenka	No. 2	Madrid Open, Spain	Clay	QF	6–2, 2–6, 1–6	No. 59
Loss	2–4	Markéta Vondroušová	No. 10	Canadian Open	Hard	1R	4–6, 2–6	No. 33
Loss	2–5	Coco Gauff	No. 7	Cincinnati Open, US	Hard	2R	2–6, 2–6	No. 33
2024
Loss	2-6	Elena Rybakina	No. 4	Madrid Open, Spain	Clay	3R	1-6, 4-6	No. 72

Notes

1. Withdrew during the tournament; not counted as a loss.
2. ^ Formerly known as Fed Cup until 2020.
3. ^ Edition is split into the two years due to COVID-19.
4. ^ The first Premier 5 event of the year has switched back and forth between the Dubai Tennis Championships and the Qatar Ladies Open since 2009. Dubai was classified as a Premier 5 event from 2009–2011 before being succeeded by Doha for the 2012–2014 period. In 2015, Dubai regained its Premier 5 status while Doha was demoted to Premier status. The Premier 5 tournaments were reclassified as WTA 1000 tournaments in 2021.
5. ^ During the season, she did not play in the main draw of any WTA Tour-level tournaments. However, she played at the Billie Jean King Cup, which is not counted as a played tournament but matches count.
6. 2012: WTA ranking-n/a, 2013: WTA ranking-641, ... 2015-16: WTA ranking-n/a, 2017: WTA ranking-780, 2018: WTA ranking-n/a.
7. 2013: WTA ranking-700, ... 2015-16: WTA ranking-n/a, 2017: WTA ranking-1049, 2018: WTA ranking-n/a.

References

1. "Mayar Sherif says becoming highest-ranked Egyptian in tennis history is 'no coincidence'". 19 June 2023.
2. "Fresno State Sisters Team Up to Shock No. 5 Doubles Team". Mountain West. 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
3. "Mayar Sherif - Women's Tennis". Pepperdine University Athletics. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
4. "Sherif makes history at the AO 2021". Retrieved 9 February 2021.
5. "Sherif breaks new ground at the AO 2021". Retrieved 9 February 2021.
6. "Billie Jean King Cup - Player Profile: Maiar Sherif Ahmed Abdel-Aziz". Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
7. Macpherson, Alex (September 25, 2020). "Zarazua, Sherif qualify for Roland Garros, score national milestones". Retrieved September 29, 2020.
8. Kane, David (September 29, 2020). "Pliskova solves Sherif to pass first hurdle in Paris". WTA. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
9. "Mayar Sherif delights fans as she creates history at Australian Open 2021". 9 February 2021. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
10. "Egypt's Mayar Sherif makes history as first female tennis player to qualify for Olympics in 2021". 25 September 2020.
11. "Mayar Sherif and Mohamed Safwat Become First Ever Egyptian Olympic Tennis Competitors". Egyptian Streets. 2019-08-30. Retrieved 2020-08-13.
12. "Insider Wrap: Sherif makes history for Egypt as Collins, Petkovic shine". Women's Tennis Association.
13. "Trailblazer Sherif becomes first Egyptian in WTA final; to face Petkovic in Cluj-Napoca".
14. "Egyptian Sherif withdraws from French Open with foot fracture". Reuters. 25 May 2022.
15. "Sherif wins Parma to become first Egyptian WTA champion".
16. "Mayar Sherif Makes History Again, Reaches Madrid Open Quarter-Finals | Egyptian Streets". May 2023.
17. "Mayar Sherif's Spanish roots help her feel at home in Madrid".
18. "Sherif triumphs in Valencia; wins second WTA 125 title in two weeks".
19. "Sherif saves six championship points, wins Makarska 125 title".
20. "Rankings Watch: Boulter, Sherif reach career-highs".
21. "Madrid Open: Sherif advances to second round". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
22. "Sherif stuns Kostyuk in Madrid; Putintseva advances after Zheng retires". WTA. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
23. "Elena Rybakina defeats Mayar Sherif in straight sets to reach 2024 Madrid Open round of 16". Eurosport. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
24. "Siniakova, Boisson win marathon finals to capture WTA 125 clay-court titles". WTA. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
25. "Italian Open: Sherif makes round of 32, will face Azarenka". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
26. "Italian Open: Azarenka books last 16 date against Sakkari". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
27. "Schmiedlova battles to WTA 125 Parma title; Shnaider wins at WTA 125 Paris". WTA. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
28. "Stearns beats Sherif in Rabat to capture first WTA singles title". WTA. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
29. "Makarska Open: Volynets wins the trophy". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
30. "Italians Trevisan and Bronzetti claim WTA 125 titles". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
31. "Hamburg European Open: Danilovic wins from a set down to move into semi-finals". Tennis Majors. Retrieved 28 August 2024.
32. "British qualifier Kartal charges to first WTA singles title in Monastir". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
33. "Zarazua, Stojanovic win this week's clay-court WTA 125 titles". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
34. "Sherif crowned singles champion at WTA 125 Buenos Aires". Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
35. "Mayar Sherif [EGY] | Australian Open". ausopen.com. Retrieved 4 November 2021.

External links

• Mayar Sherif at the Women's Tennis Association
• Mayar Sherif at the International Tennis Federation
• Mayar Sherif at the Billie Jean King Cup
• Pepperdine Waves bio

• 1996 births
• Living people
• Egyptian female tennis players
• Tennis players from Cairo
• African Games gold medalists for Egypt
• African Games medalists in tennis
• African Games silver medalists for Egypt
• African Games bronze medalists for Egypt
• Competitors at the 2011 All-Africa Games
• Pepperdine Waves women's tennis players
• Egyptian expatriate tennis players in the United States
• Olympic tennis players for Egypt
• Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics
• Tennis players at the 2024 Summer Olympics