Currently No. 39 in the boys’ standings, Abedallah Shelbayh is Jordan’s highest-ever ranked junior. He has trained at the Rafa Nadal Academy by Movistar in Manacor, Mallorca since 2018 and last year claimed his first professional match-wins. In this article, itftennis.com finds out more about a player who is developing a growing reputation and is tipped to have a bright future. We speak to Abedallah himself, his father Khaled, Amir Borghei – the ITF’s development officer for West and Central Asia who witnessed his emergence from a young age – and Colombia’s Nicolas Mejia, who is part of the same training group at Nadal’s academy.

How it began

Abedallah: Back when I was four or five years old, my dad was watching tennis on television and I didn’t know what that was so I asked him about it. My dad used to play tennis at college with his friends so he knew how to play and said, ‘I can teach you’.

I started liking the game and watching it every day and I just loved tennis from there. I started going to practice after school and some coaches told my dad that I have talent and should take it seriously. Since then, it is something I do daily.

Switching to left hand

Abedallah: I started playing tennis with my right hand, then one day I saw somebody playing differently with their left hand and it was Rafael Nadal. I didn’t know who he was, but when I was playing against a wall I tried playing with my left hand. I was changing every day until my dad told me that I had to decide which hand I was going to play with and I chose left.

Khaled: He was very young when he started to play. I was watching Rafa on television at Roland Garros and Abedallah started asking questions, saying he would like to play so I brought him a racket. He started with his right hand, he eats and writes with his right, but after one year he saw Rafa playing and started with his left.

Nurtured talent

Amir Borghei: I met Abedallah for the first time when he played the ITF West Asia 13-and-under Development Championships in 2015 in Lebanon. In that tournament, he came second in the boys’ singles and helped Jordan to third place.

A year later, he played in the same tournament, this time in his home country and I was the ITF representative at the event. Everyone was impressed by his improvement and he won, resulting in selection for the ITF West Asia Team.

In January 2017, I was the ITF team coach as we travelled to Bangkok to participate in the ITF Asia 14-and-under Development Championships Division Two. Our team won and there is no doubt that Abedallah played a leading role in the success.

The journey continued and Abedallah played in Division One the same year. In Bangkok, he played against stronger players and proved his talent and fighting spirit on court.

The move to Spain

Abedallah: I remember when I started training for real every day, it was so hard to train after school and combine it with studying. The older I got, the harder it was for me to balance both.

With help from Princess Lara Faisal and her Rise for Good foundation, we decided the best option was to come to the Rafa Nadal Academy. Here, I can combine tennis and studies and I love it. It was not easy leaving my family and not easy for my parents, but they knew I was responsible enough.

I travelled alone when I was younger because my father was working and had meetings and my mother had to stay with my sister. It was not easy but they knew I could do it. They miss me also, I hope.

Khaled: We are proud of him. He has shown a good responsibility by travelling alone to the academy. This has shown me his character, and he has shown he can be a responsible guy, cope and depend on himself.

This is what he has learned from going there. After all, tennis is an individual sport. It is not easy to go at 14, be in school and practice. We only see him a couple of times a year, which shows maturity and that he can depend on himself more and more – on and off court.

Working with Rafa

Abedallah: I have practiced with him. I wanted to as soon as I arrived, then one day Rafa and Carlos Moya heard about me from Toni [Nadal] and I got to play with him.

Since then, I have played with him a lot and I think he likes playing with me. I’m really close with Rafa and Carlos and they’re really nice, but it is strange practicing with my idol and someone I changed my racket hand to be like.

When you see him around the academy and get to know him, you see how serious he is about tennis. He is one of the best, some might say the best, but he is hungry for more and that rubs off on you and gives you motivation.

I have learned so much. He’s always giving his best in training, so nice and not arrogant at all. He’s a great guy.

Khaled: It is amazing to think he was dreaming to see Rafa and now he trains and plays with him. It is amazing that he can practice with him and watch him at the academy. When a kid has a dream, maybe he can reach his dream and goals – this is one of the things to learn from this experience.

The player

Abedallah: I am competitive, I like to compete. I noticed this during the lockdown last year; when we started training again, at times I felt like I was training for nothing as there were no competitions and I didn’t have much motivation. But once we started playing again and once I knew there were tournaments, I felt so excited. Competing is what I do best.

Nicolas Mejia: As a player, he is very aggressive. In our training group at the academy, I’d say he is the most complete player in the sense he has every single shot: he hits his forehand extremely hard, his backhand is very flat, his serve is amazing and he volleys very well.

In doubles, he is extremely good because he is aggressive. In singles, he is dangerous because, as I say, he has all the shots. Playing him is very tough because when he is on his game, he can beat anyone. He is a very good talent and can hit the ball anywhere in the court.

Amir Borghei: He combines intelligence with excellent footwork, which leads to decisive performances. He is also a great team player and supports his teammates, that's what I can say from the time I worked with him.

The person

Nicolas Mejia: Off court he is a very nice guy. I’m new here and maybe I was a shy guy at the beginning and thought he was not going to be such a nice guy when sometimes I saw him on the practice court getting angry.

But that was because he is such a competitor. He is such a nice guy and I have a good connection with him and other members of the training group, people like Daniel Rincon, Marc Ktiri and Pedro Vives Marcos.

Abedallah: I am usually full of energy and like being active. Before Covid, I would be going out every weekend with my friends and having dinner. Even though it’s a great place, I couldn’t stay in the academy – that’s just the way I am.

I like spending time with my friends and having some time alone away from tennis. I like playing football when I can and video games, although not as much these days. I’m a Barcelona fan and my favourite player is Lionel Messi.

The future

Amir Borghei: He has potential and can be a role model for the other junior players from our region. From my heart, I wish him the best and look forward to seeing him on top of the tennis world, hopefully in the near future.

Abedallah: I really want to reach my full potential and do my best. I know it’s not going to be easy but I want to give myself the best chance to be able to do my best and have no regrets.

I have a goal to reach the Top 100 at least, although my main goal is to be among the best 20 players in the world. I know that won’t be easy but I want to stick to the dream that I gave myself, be motivated every day and know why I am practicing every day.

Nicolas Mejia: If he continues to work hard and have good people around him, I think he has a bright future. I am sure he has things to work on, but he has a lot of amazing people around him who will help him grow and mature, both as a person and a player.

Hopefully he can take advantage of those opportunities and there is every chance he is going to be an amazing player for Jordan. I think he is one of a number of players here who you are going to hear a lot about in the near future.