Hady Habib, 26-year-old Lebanese American tennis player, has made history as he has become the first Lebanese player to reach a Grand Slam singles draw. Habib defeated French player Clement Chidekh 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8) in the three qualifying rounds and secured his place in the Australian Open, starting next Sunday.
Last year, he was also the first Lebanese player to win an ATP Challenger Tour in Chile. In Paris 2024, he played against eventual Silver winner Carlos Alcaraz. Habib, ranked 219, will play his first match against Chinese player Yunchaokete Bu.
He was born in Houston, Texas, but moved to Lebanon as a kid, where he learned to play tennis. He has double nationality and is playing his career in the US, but he hopes to represent his country.
"I know it's just a sport, but I feel like representing Lebanon and sacrificing all the things I had to do to get here, it kind of resembles how our nation has fought back", Habib said on SBS News, as spotted by Tennis.com.
His country is currently in a ceasefire against Israel since November 27, after a year of bombings that took the life of over 4,000 people in Lebanon. "Every morning, I was waking up during that challenging time, I was contacting all my family members, my friends, making sure they're okay", the tennis player said.
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