LONDON: Switching rackets can be one of the scariest things a tennis player can do, but it can also be incredibly rewarding.
Egyptian player Mayar Sherif is banking on the latter as she took the bold decision to change her equipment from Wilson to Head in an effort to take another step forward in her tennis career.
At No. 86 in the world, Sherif is the second-highest-ranked Arab in professional tennis right now and is one of just two players from the MENA region competing in singles at Wimbledon this fortnight – alongside Tunisian Ons Jabeur.
Two months ago, Sherif was encouraged by her coach, Justo Gonzalez, to test out a new racket that would help her generate more power with less effort.
The racket she’d been using for the past four years was unforgiving – “physically exhausting” is how Sherif put it – and for a clay-court specialist like her, who frequently plays lengthy, gruelling matches on the red dirt, a change felt like the smart way to go. At 29, Sherif also felt that fiddling with her equipment could help extend her career.
So before the tournament in Parma in May, Sherif decided to give a new racket a try. There was one hitch though: she only had one racket to use for her first round because there was no time to get more from the manufacturer.
“I had one racket, and I knew that the racket lasts two hours, and then I’d break the strings. So I went to my first match knowing that if I get into a third set, I probably would have to switch back to my old racket. So this is the mentality I had with my first match,” Sherif told Arab News on Sunday ahead of her Wimbledon opener against Mirra Andreeva on Tuesday.
“I was getting panic attacks in the first set. I couldn't control my heart rate. I couldn't control everything. I've never felt that anxious on a tennis court. And the first set was going 5-all, 6-5, and I was so scared to lose one set, you know? So I won that match, and I won the second, and the other rackets came, and finally I won the tournament.”
Sherif will be one of just two players from the MENA region competing in singles at Wimbledon this fortnight – alongside Tunisian Ons Jabeur. (Courtesy: Wimbledon/AELTC)
After triumphing in Parma, Sherif took some weight off of the new racket, looking to perfect it, and despite briefly losing faith in it, she ended up winning another tournament with it in Biarritz.
Sherif’s game is naturally-suited to clay, but the Egyptian is hoping she can make the necessary adjustments for the grass at Wimbledon, where she is contesting the main draw for a third consecutive season.
She explained that changing her racket is the first step in changing her identity as a player. All 12 of her titles won at the 100, 125 or 250 level, have come on clay.
The goal is to be able to tailor her game to other surfaces, like hard courts and grass.
“That's the first step, to try to play not only clay-court tennis, to try to hit harder, to try so that the ball doesn't pick up that much spin all the time, so that I get some easy power, so that I don't have to generate everything myself. Because my other racket was a bit physically exhausting,” she explained.
“Also serving. Right now, I'm serving so much better than with my other racket. That's something we worked on as well. I'm still at a moment where the racket is not 100 percent a part of me.
“But I'm getting there, and I'm having better feelings.”
Other adjustments she’s been making include working on her slice returns and incorporating more drop shots to her game.
“Changing with a slice. I usually don't change with backhand slice. But hopefully here, I can get some slices in general,” she added.
“Getting fitter and working on my movement, this is something I've worked on in the last couple of months. And I feel much better on court, lighter. Because here (at Wimbledon), if you're not light, if you're not on your feet, you run one time, and you're not going to get back on court. You're not going to get the next ball.”
Sherif’s experience is limited on grass, the former world No. 31 has played a total of just seven tour-level matches on the surface and has won just two of those encounters. (Courtesty: Wimbledon/AELTC)
Sherif’s experience is limited on grass. The former world No. 31 has played a total of just seven tour-level matches on the surface – through main draws and qualifying – and has won just two of those encounters.
She’s been enjoying her time in south-west London though, where she is renting a house with her team that is a short walking distance from the All England Club.
One of her sisters, her mother, and her two aunts, are all in town to see Sherif play, and the whole family – a tennis-addicted family – has been taking in the immaculate surroundings of SW19.
“Everything here is very special, very beautiful. To play on grass is always something special, it's different,” said Sherif.
“So I’m just very happy to be here another time. To be in the top 100 is always rewarding, to play the Grand Slams. Hopefully here I can make a good result and work on my things. It's a tough opening round, but hopefully I can go through it.”
Sherif’s opponent, Andreeva, is ranked No.7 in the world, and is having a phenomenal season so far, that includes WTA 1000 title runs in Dubai and Indian Wells.
The 18-year-old Russian is also playing her third-ever Wimbledon and is 7-5 overall on grass at the pro level. Andreeva reached the fourth round, as a qualifier, on her tournament debut in 2023.
“It's obviously challenging, because she's been doing really good results. She's been playing really well. She's won a couple of big tournaments,” said Sherif of her first-round opponent.
“But to be honest, I'm looking to play now bigger tournaments, play at the higher level. I want to get myself to play at the edge of the high level. So, I'm looking forward to this match and to learn and keep learning week by week.”
