A Carleton alumnus organized the Tennis Masters Championship in Amman, Jordan from Nov. 1-8. The tournament was the first of its kind in the region.
Izzidine Al-Mufti, who graduated from Carleton in 2014, arranged the event with two friends, Khalid Naffa and Sari Al-Otaibi, who all have experience playing competitive tennis.
The tournament featured players from six countries, including Spain, Bulgaria, and Egypt. Spain’s Adrian Menendez-Maceiras won the championship.
The winning player received $8,000, the runner-up won $4,000, the third and fourth place winners collected $2,000 each, and the players who were eliminated after the first round left with $1,000 each, according to Al-Mufti.
All of the players’ expenses were paid separate from the prize money.
Al-Mufti, a former tennis competitor himself, said he was inspired to play tennis when he met a friend of his friend’s family who was a tennis coach.
“The coach’s passion for the sport and the story of how he started in the sport made me want to try,” he said.
Al-Mufti said he started playing in the ninth grade and became “addicted” to the sport. He would play at the Toni Milo Academy on campus against friends on the courts when they were free.
Soon after he began playing, he competed with his local club.
Al-Mufti said he and his friends started the tournament because tennis is not supported in Jordan.
“They don’t see it as a major sport,” he said. “Sports in general aren’t very highly regarded by the people here. They don’t see it as a career.”
The men had the idea for the tournament four years ago, but started planning it at the beginning of this year while Al-Mufti was attending Carleton.
“We were thinking of putting Jordan on the tennis map,” he said.
Many sponsors pulled out of the project at the last minute because of limited interest in the sport, according to Al-Mufti.
“They’re more interested in the masses rather than finding the sport that will encourage most kids to play it,” he said.
Al-Mufti said all there was some concern about the safety of the tournament because of the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, as well as the openness of the society.
However, he said there were no security problems during the championship, and all competitors signed a waiver beforehand.
“We wanted to portray Jordan also as a safe place in the region,” Al-Mufti said.
He said he was surprised the Arab champion, Mohamed Safwat of Egypt, did not advance to the finals.
Al-Mufti said he wants to get higher ranked players to compete and more sponsorship money for future tournaments.
“I see a very bright future for the tournament,” he said.
Al-Mufti said he hopes the tournament inspires young people to consider competitive tennis as a career option.
“We really want to make a change, especially for the youth,” he said.
