Morocco's Malak El Allami turns focus to college after making history at US Open

Columbia freshman Malak El Allami started university on Monday, a week later than the rest of her classmates, but she had a great excuse for missing school.

Just 11 miles from campus, the Moroccan teenager was busy making history at the US Open, where she won the girls’ doubles title alongside her Norwegian partner Emily Sartz-Lunde on Saturday.

The victory made El Allami the first Moroccan female to win a Grand Slam trophy of any kind, and the first Moroccan player to do so since 1991 when Karim Alami (no relation) won the junior doubles titles at Wimbledon and the US Open.

“I’m very happy with our result. It’s been great to share the court with Emily. We’re just happy and hungry for more,” El Allami told The National in New York. “For sure it’s an honour to represent Morocco on such a high stage. I hope this is going to help other players from Morocco, other girls to dream bigger and try to become the best.”

Winning the US Open girls’ doubles crown was the perfect way for El Allami to conclude her junior tennis career as she embarks on a new journey, studying at and playing for Columbia University in New York.

Her fellow Columbia Lions showed up to support their teammate during the semi-finals and final, and El Allami knows she will have many eyes on her when she begins her college tennis career.

“I honestly don’t know [how this Grand Slam title will affect me] but for sure I want to be great for my team and help them win matches and maybe go for the NCAA title. They’ve been very supportive,” said the 18-year-old from Casablanca. “When you get to the Slams, you always believe you can win, you play to win, but it doesn’t always happen. I guess now that it happened it just makes you believe more and want to work harder.”

Like El Allami, Sartz-Lunde had to miss the first few days of college. The Norwegian teenager will be attending the University of Michigan starting this semester and was happy to form a title-winning tandem with El Allami.

“Malak has an insane kick serve. She’s also got the fastest hands that I ever played with. She’s so positive; if I make a mistake, it’s no worries,” said Sartz-Lunde.

El Allami says she developed her touch because she played a lot with boys growing up. The Moroccan is the latest in a string of Arab tennis players who have particularly soft hands, such as Tunisian star Ons Jabeur and Jordanian up-and-comer Abdullah Shelbayh.

El Allami comes from a tennis family and has been coached by her father, Mokhtar, and her brothers Mohamed and Omar. Her older sister, Fatima, played professionally and hit a career-high ranking of 433 in 2010 before retiring three years later due to injury. Fatima, who now lives in Canada with her husband, flew to New York to witness her sister’s run at the Open.

“Malak has a very aggressive game. I think nowadays in tennis, you have to be aggressive, you cannot be passive and wait for the other to play, you’ve got to impose your game. And I think she’s good at doing this,” Fatima, 35, said.

“She’s very dedicated, she practises, she tries to go beyond her means, because sometimes it’s not easy to go for tournaments, play alone, travel all year round without her family, without the support that you’re supposed to have at this age. But she’s doing her best. I think there’s no better way to close her junior career, so I’m very proud of her.”

Fatima believes her younger sister is benefitting from the family’s previous experience of supporting her own tennis endeavours.

“My parents certainly developed as tennis coaches, because my father is a tennis coach. From my experience, I think he changed the way to deal with stuff. Even Malak, she used to go with me to tournaments and I think she fell in love with tennis and competition through that,” said Fatima.

“I think all those good things had an impact on her indirectly. But mostly I think the way of practising and planning the tennis career, how to deal with that, I think that’s what changed from my experience to her experience.”

El Allami’s success at the US Open is the latest in a long list of unprecedented successes achieved by Moroccan athletes on the global stage. From men’s and women’s football and track and field to golf and surfing, Moroccans have been reaching new heights in the world of sport. With three Moroccan juniors taking part in the boys’ and girls’ singles draw at the US Open last week, it seems tennis is experiencing a revival in the North African kingdom.

El Allami says she’s inspired by all her compatriots, particularly Soufiane El Bakkali, who defended his Olympic gold medal in 3,000m steeplechase in Paris this summer, and reigning heavyweight boxing world champion Khadija Mardi.

“It’s such an honour because most of us are all part of the Olympic Committee, so we get to follow each other’s results and support each other, and we’re all very happy and proud to represent Morocco. We love our country very much and we want what’s best for the country,” said El Allami.

Fatima believes the progress being made across all sports is no coincidence. “Now in Morocco there is like a new wave around sport, there is good energy, good investment,” she said.

“The King [Mohammed VI] is very invested and he wants the federations to have strategies and to give financial means to the players. Part of Malak’s success today is thanks to the federation because they’ve been following her for years.

“It’s not easy, tennis is a very costly sport and the federation is making it possible for her to play as many tournaments as she needs. She’s fortunate to have this support. Because when I used to play and the generation before, they didn’t have such support.

“Sure, things aren’t like other developed countries, but we’re on the right track. We’re trying and we have good spirit and good energy now around sports, trying to make Morocco move forward, so we’re very proud.

“Morocco now is trying to show its real values, and part of its values is the woman, the mother, the sister. So they’re trying also to give means to women, to express themselves on other platforms, so it’s a great thing.”

El Allami has been receiving overwhelming support from Moroccan fans back home and she’s keen to continue making history. “I hope to keep making them happy,” she said.