100 of the Most Influential Women in Sport >> Arabs

Fatma Al Nabhani, Oman

Tennis

Sporting success does not come at the cost of standing up for Al Nabhani’s beliefs. The Omani tennis star, who has consistently been ranked among the top 500 in the world and has 10 singles and 13 doubles titles on the ITF Women’s Circuit to her name, rallied against perceived mistreatment in September 2018. The 27-year-old quit mid-match at a tournament in France, alleging racism from a chair umpire partly linked to a decision to wear leggings under her skirt because of her Muslim beliefs. “I have never faced racism in my life, I know this is a very sensitive topic to speak about but what I faced in Clermont, France was not acceptable,” said Al Nabhani. On court, Al Nabhani made her WTA debut a decade ago and continues to compete in the ITF circuit.

– Is ranked 405th in singles and 605th in doubles by the WTA.

– Has earned $238,832 in prize money throughout her career.

– Made her WTA Tour debut at the 2009 Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in the doubles, but lost in the first round.

Did you know…

Al Nabhani has won medals at the Islamic Solidarity Games, Arab Games and GCC Women’s Games.

“Well I’m Muslim, I’m proud of it, I’m Arab, I’m proud of it, I’ll stand for myself and I’ll stand for all the other players. We don’t get treated this way.” – Fatma Al Nabhani

Instagram: @falnabhani