Sports: The tennis ace

Published December 12, 2009

Twenty-nine year old Lahore-born Aisamul Haq grew up swimming, playing cricket and football, but at the age of 14 he developed a crush on tennis when his mother and first coach, Nausheen Ihtisham, took him to a tennis club.

His mother is a former ten-time national champion who represented Pakistan in the Fed Cup and his maternal grandfather, Khawaja Iftikhar, was the All-India champion before Partition — hence the love for tennis is in Aisam's blood.

During his junior tennis days, ITF (International Tennis Federation) sponsored him for two years and he finished seventh, making him the highest ranked Pakistani ever! He is the number one Pakistani tennis player and is the former Asian number three. His greatest ever achievement was to reach Wimbledon's third round and the second round at the US open with partner Amir Hadad in 2002.

I was surprised to learn that he shines not only in tennis but also as a human being because he has also won the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian of the Year award for playing with an Israeli partner despite pressures from his community (Amir Hadad also won the same award).

As a junior, Aisam was coached by LTA (The Lawn Tennis Association). As a pro he was coached by American Robert Davis — an International Sports Writer and former Davis Cup and National Coach for Peru, Panama and Thailand. Aisam is currently coached by Brazilian, Rodrigo Nascimento.

Editorial

A hasty retreat
28 Nov, 2024

A hasty retreat

POLITICAL immaturity has cost the PTI dearly once again. It appears things may not have come to this had Bushra ...
Lebanon truce
28 Nov, 2024

Lebanon truce

WILL it hold? That is the question many in the Middle East and beyond will be asking after a 60-day ceasefire ...
MDR anomaly removed
28 Nov, 2024

MDR anomaly removed

THE State Bank’s decision to remove its minimum deposit rate requirement for conventional banks on deposits from...
Islamabad march
Updated 27 Nov, 2024

Islamabad march

WITH emotions running high, chaos closes in. As these words were being written, rumours and speculation were all...
Policing the internet
27 Nov, 2024

Policing the internet

IT is chilling to witness how Pakistan — a nation that embraced the freedoms of modern democracy, and the tech ...
Correcting sports priorities
27 Nov, 2024

Correcting sports priorities

IT has been a lingering battle that has cast a shadow over sports in Pakistan: who are the national sports...