Kareem Al Allaf (كريم العلاف; born March 22, 1998) is an American tennis player and tennis coach of Syrian descent. He holds the all-time wins record for singles and doubles combined in college tennis at the University of Iowa.
| Full name | Kareem Al Allaf |
|---|---|
| Native name | كريم العلاف |
| Country (sports) |  Syria (2015–22) United States (2022–present) |
| Born | March 22, 1998 Des Moines, Iowa, United States |
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| College | University of Iowa |
| Coach | Ross Wilson, Ammar Allaf |
| Prize money | $35,082 |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 12–5 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 0 |
| Highest ranking | No. 751 (May 22, 2023) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 6–4 (at ATP Tour level, Grand Slam level, and in Davis Cup) |
| Career titles | 1 ITF |
| Highest ranking | No. 704 (August 21, 2023) |
| Team competitions | |
| Davis Cup | 18–9 (12–5 in singles) |
| Last updated on: December 20, 2024. | |
Allaf has a career-high ATP singles ranking of 751, achieved on May 22, 2023. He also has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of 704, achieved on August 21, 2023. He was also a doubles champion at the ITF World Tennis Tour in the summer of 2019.
Allaf represented the Syria Davis Cup team at the Davis Cup, where he played #1 singles and had a W/L record of 18–9 (12–5 in singles play) in 2015–21. However, the Syrian Tennis Federation banned him because he competed in a match against an Israeli opponent in a tournament in Arkansas in 2022. Consequently, he switched nationalities to represent his birth country, the United States.
Early life
editAllaf was born in Des Moines, Iowa.[1] His father is Syrian.[2] He won one ITF Junior title in singles competition,[3]
College career
editAllaf graduated from the University of Iowa in 2020 with a degree in Enterprise Leadership and a minor in Communications, before earning a masters in 2022 in Sports and Recreational Management.[4] He holds the all-time wins record for singles and doubles combined in college tennis at the University of Iowa with 164 combined wins for the Hawkeyes, for whom he played from 2016–21.[4][5][6]
He won 95 career singles matches and 69 career doubles matches.[4] His 22 doubles victories as a sophomore in 2018 are third on Iowa’s single-season wins list, and his 23 singles victories during his freshman year in 2017 tied for the 11th-most in a single season in the university's history.[4] In 2018, Allaf became the third player in program history to win the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Central Regional Singles Championship in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[4][7] In 2019, he qualified for the ITA Main Draw, and became only the second player from the university to accomplish the feat.[4] In 2020 he was named first-team All-Big Ten, ITA Central Region Senior Player of the Year, and ITA Central Region Most Improved Senior.[8] Allaf earned three All-Big Ten honors.[4]
Professional career
editAllaf has a career-high ATP singles ranking of 751, achieved on May 22, 2023. He also has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of 704, achieved on August 21, 2023.[1] He was also a doubles champion at the ITF World Tennis Tour in the summer of 2019.[9]
Davis Cup; ban by Syria
editAllaf represented the Syria Davis Cup team at the Davis Cup, where he played #1 singles and had a W/L record of 18–9 (12–5 in singles play) in 2015–21.[10][9][2]
The Syrian Tennis Federation banned him, because he competed in a match against an Israeli opponent in a 2022 ITF Men's World Tennis Tour tournament in Fayetteville, Arkansas, in November 2022.[11][12] Allaf said:
"I respect everyone equally ... Hopefully this doesn't happen again to other athletes from Arab countries .. I think the ITF should get involved in this ... It should never happen again."[13]
Egyptian journalist Reem Abulleil wrote on Twitter: "Syrian tennis player @KareemAllaf played against and defeated Israeli player Nitzan Ricklis last week in a $15k in Fayetteville, Arkansas. As a response, the Syrian Tennis Federation has banned him. Hope @ITFTennis do something. This nonsense has got to stop."[12]
As a result of the Syrian federation's ban, Allaf switched nationalities to represent his birth country, the United States.[12]
Coaching
editFrom 2022–23 he was a volunteer assistant at Mississippi State University.[4] From 2023 to the present he has been a University of Central Florida assistant coach with their UCF Knights tennis team in Orlando, Florida.[4]
See also
edit- Malek Jaziri, Tunisian tennis player ordered by the Tunisian tennis federation to withdraw from a match against an Israeli; the ITF consequently barred Tunisia from competing in the 2014 Davis Cup.
References
edit- ^ a b "Kareem Al Allaf," ATP Tour.
- ^ a b David Cox (February 17, 2016). "Horror, Redemption, Hope: The story of the Syrian Davis Cup team". Tennis.com.
- ^ "Kareem Allaf," Hawkeye Sports.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Kareem Allaf," ucfknights.com.
- ^ "Kareem Allaf". University of Iowa Athletics. April 10, 2020.
- ^ "Kareem Al Allaf | Overview | Tennis". ATP Tour.
- ^ Cody Smith (October 22, 2018). "Iowa men’s tennis junior Kareem Allaf wins ITA Central Regional; Junior Kareem Allaf finished as the last man standing in the 128-man tournament in Oklahoma," The Daily Iowan.
- ^ Will Fineman (December 8, 2020). "Iowa men’s tennis trio work to continue their success and leadership," The Daily Iowan.
- ^ a b "Kareem Allaf," Hailstate.
- ^ "Kareem Al Allaf," Davis Cup.
- ^ "Kareem Al Allaf," ATP Tour.
- ^ a b c Mitra, Adreej Kumar (November 9, 2022). "Syrian tennis player Kareem Al Allaf banned for playing Israeli opponent at ITF event in Arkansas". Media Referee.
- ^ Alex Gruskin (November 30, 2022). "Kareem Allaf: Iowa Men’s Tennis Career-Wins Leader," Cracked Interviews Podcast (audio).
External links
edit- Kareem Al Allaf at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Kareem Al Allaf at the International Tennis Federation
- Kareem Al Allaf at the Davis Cup
- "Kareem Allaf of Hawkeye Men's Tennis serves it up with Laura in Hawk2Hawk," Iowa Hawkeyes (2000; video)
- Instagram page
,_Flag_of_Syria_(1980%E2%80%932024).svg){kind=small}  | This biographical article related to Syrian sports is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This biographical article related to tennis is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |