Abdullah Shelbayh

Abedallah Shelbayh ( ar, عبد الله شلبيه, eabd allah shalabih; (also known as Abdullah Shelbayh ( ar, عبدالله شلبيه, eabdallah shalabih; born 16 November 2003) is a Jordanian tennis player.

Shelbayh has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 181 achieved on 29 January, 2024, and is the first Jordanian tennis player to achieve an ATP world ranking. He has a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 290, achieved on 8 January, 2024. He had a career-high ITF juniors ranking of 27 achieved on 12 July 2021. Shelbayh has won three ITF singles titles and one doubles title on the ITF Men's Circuit and one on the ATP Challenger Tour.

Shelbayh represents Jordan at the Davis Cup, where he has a win-loss record of 10–1.

Early life

Shelbayh was introduced to tennis by his father, who was a recreational player. He was training in Jordan until he was 14 years old, switching his tennis play to being left-handed in order to emulate his idol, Rafael Nadal. In 2018, Shelbayh moved to Mallorca to join the Rafa Nadal Academy. Princess Lara Faisal asked Toni Nadal to come to Jordan and see if Shelbayh had what it took to join the academy. Toni Nadal was impressed by his talent, prompting Faisal to establish the Rise for Good Sports Fund to help Shelbayh and other young Jordanian prospects in sports.

During his last junior tennis year, Shelbayh didn't feel himself on court due to personal issues, and wished to change some things and get out of his comfort zone. He enrolled at the University of Florida for a year and played collegiate tennis. In June 2022, Shelbayh went back to Mallorca to work on turning professional. Shelbayh speaks 3 languages: Arabic, English and Spanish.

Career

2022: Historic maiden Challenger win, Top 500, Turned professional

In September 2022, Shelbayh reached the semifinals of the Manacor Challenger after receiving a wildcard into the main draw, defeating the No. 1 seed and world No. 127 Dominic Stricker in his opening match. He became the first player from Jordan to win a match in ATP Challenger Tour history. Following this run, Shelbayh made his debut in the world's top 500.

On December 1, 2022, after one year as part of the Florida Gators men's tennis team at the University of Florida, Shelbayh announced that he would forego his remaining collegiate eligibility in order to turn professional. The following week, Shelbayh won his third ITF singles title in Trnava, Slovakia, defeating Daniel Rincón in the final.

On December 28, 2022, Shelbayh won the second edition of the Arab Masters Tennis Tournament, held in Kuwait City, defeating Benjamin Hassan in the final. In addition to prize money of $25,000, the win gave Shelbayh a wildcard to compete in the main draw of the 2023 Qatar Open in Doha.

2023: Historic maiden Challenger final & title, ATP win, Masters & top 200 debuts

In February, Shelbayh qualified for the 2023 Tenerife Challenger III. He defeated Salvatore Caruso in his opening main draw match, before losing to Ryan Peniston in the second round. The following week, Shelbayh reached his second career semifinal on the ATP Challenger Tour at the 2023 Bahrain Ministry of Interior Tennis Challenger, defeating the No. 1 seed and world No. 79 Jason Kubler in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, he again defeated lucky loser Salvatore Caruso, becoming the first Jordanian player in history and the youngest Arab to reach a final at Challenger level. Shelbayh was defeated by Thanasi Kokkinakis in the final. As a result of this run, Shelbayh moved up more than 120 positions in ranking, entering the top 300 for the first time at world No. 276 on 20 February 2023.

Shelbayh made his ATP Tour-level main draw debut at the 2023 Qatar ExxonMobil Open, where he received a wildcard. He lost to Kwon Soon-woo in the first round in three sets.

In April, Shelbayh won his first doubles title at Challenger level at the 2023 Murcia Open, partnering Daniel Rincón. The pair received entry into the doubles draw as alternates. He then qualified for the Banja Luka Open in Bosnia and Herzegovina, having received an alternate spot in the qualifying competition. He beat fellow qualifier Elias Ymer in straight sets in the first round, becoming the first Jordanian player to win an ATP Tour-level match. Shelbayh received a wildcard at the 2023 Mutua Madrid Open, where he made his Masters 1000 debut. He lost to Pedro Cachin in the opening round.

In October, Shelbayh played in Charleston, where he beat Mark Lajal, Brandon Holt, Ethan Quinn and Ryan Peniston to reach his second Challenger final. He defeated wildcard Oliver Crawford to become the first Jordanian player to win a Challenger title. In November, he qualified for the 2023 Moselle Open in Metz, France, where he defeated Hugo Gaston in the first round, registering his first tour-level win on a hard court and the second of his season and career. As a result, Shelbayh broke into the top 200 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career. He lost in the second round to defending champion Lorenzo Sonego.

In November, Shelbayh was announced as the wildcard entry into the 2023 Next Gen ATP Finals.

ATP Performance Timelines

Singles

''Current through the 2024 Miami Open.''

ATP Challenger and Futures/ITF World Tennis Tour finals

Singles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Junior Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)

References

External links

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2003 births
Living people
Jordanian male tennis players
Florida Gators men's tennis players
Expatriate tennis players in the United States

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