Mayar Sherif says becoming highest-ranked Egyptian in tennis history is ‘no coincidence’

In a recent conversation with her psychologist, Egyptian tennis star Mayar Sherif was asked what was driving her the most.

“She was asking me, ‘What is your motivation right now? Because motivation can move mountains’,” recalled Sherif in an interview with Arab News on Monday.

“I told her, ‘I’m dying to pass Ismail’s career-high mark of 34,’ so that was definitely a goal I had in my mind.”

Sherif was referring to Ismail El-Shafei, who, until Sunday, was the highest-ranked Egyptian in Open era history, having peaked at No.34 in the world back in 1975.

On Monday, Sherif officially surpassed him as she hit a new career-high ranking of 31 to become the highest-ranked Egyptian tennis player among both men and women in the professional era.

“It didn’t come just like that, by coincidence. It feels good to break another barrier; it gives me a lot of confidence mentally and it’s important to go into the grass season feeling this confident,” said the 27-year-old Cairene.

Sherif’s latest historic achievement has come on the heels of capturing two WTA 125k titles in as many weeks, in Makarska, Croatia, and Valencia, Spain, and she now enters the grass season with a 10-match winning streak.

The Spain-based player is an impressive 6-0 in WTA 125k finals, and has won 41 of 47 matches at that level.

While many other players have already begun their grass-court campaigns, Sherif was keen to get some more match play on clay — her preferred surface — and the decision has paid off as she now stands on the brink of the top 30.

“We tried to extend the clay season as much as possible, because the clay season on the WTA tour is very short,” Sherif said.  

“It’s obvious I play better on clay than on any other surface. Sadly the