Last month, Moroccan teenager Karim Bennani rocked up to Wimbledon by himself and got a taste of grass-court tennis for the first time in his life.
The 17-year-old from Casablanca spent just four days practicing on the surface before he played, and won, his first round in the boys’ singles tournament at Wimbledon.
“I arrived Tuesday morning to Roehampton and when I arrived I was like, ‘Wow, this is incredible. And I was just really excited to play on grass,” Bennani told The National at the All England Club.
“I didn't have a lot of pressure like the previous Grand Slams. I didn't put any pressure on myself. It was just an unbelievable experience.
“It was a dream to me, like all the players love to play Wimbledon. It's a dream coming true. So it was a dream for me to play on grass. Before the tournament, I remember when I was sleeping, I was dreaming that I'm playing on grass. But I was saying to myself, no, not yet.
“Two days left, one day left. I was really excited to come. And yeah, I was not coming with any goals, just trying to play.”
Bennani cracked the top 40 in the world junior rankings early this year. This is his last year competing as a junior and he wanted to make sure he set foot on Wimbledon’s hallowed turf before he aged up and switched his focus to the pro circuit.
Like many tennis players his age, Bennani is at a crossroads, uncertain about his next steps in the sport.
He still has one year of high school to go – he took a gap year two years ago to focus on tennis – before he has to choose between turning pro or going to the United States to study and play college tennis.
Bennani says he has been approached by multiple universities to play for their teams. But his dream is to be a professional tennis player, and he’s set himself some targets to help him make the right decision.
“I hope I will not go [to college]. I hope I will be good enough to play on the tour,” he admits.
“My father and my mother just want me to be happy and they don't want to see me struggling. As you know, when you are playing in the Challengers, if you are struggling at the 300, 200 [ranking] spot, it's going to be tough.
“So that's one thing that my parents would not like me to do. That's why sometimes they're talking about college. But I have some ranking goals. I hope I will achieve them as soon as possible so then I can convince them to go pro.”
Bennani has spoken to other Arab players who played college tennis, such as Tunisian Aziz Dougaz, to learn more about their experience, and he is aware that taking that path has its advantages.
“They said it's a good opportunity to go there. It's also another part to learn the college tennis. It's also a good level there. I mean, the best college players have an amazing level,” said Bennani.
“As you can see, [University of San Diego’s] Oliver Tarvet was playing Alcaraz [in the Wimbledon second round]. He's not even the best in the college [system]. So, yeah, and to win the NCAA for college players is a dream. So I can see that the level is really high.”
Verbal commitments to colleges are usually given around January and final decisions should be taken by the following July. Bennani is hoping he will be ranked between 300 and 400 in the world rankings by July 2026 so he could forgo college and stick to the professional circuit.
He has played a few tournaments at the pro level so far, reaching two semi-finals in 15ks and hitting a career-high ranking of 1046 in June.
He flew to Wimbledon solo after ending a three-month stint practicing at the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca. He praised the coaches at the academy but said the set-up didn’t suit him well because “I'm a guy that likes to be just with one coach. When I'm in a group, basically I can get lost really quick.”
For now, Bennani is back training in Casablanca with his coach Khalid El Hamidi and fitness trainer Hassan Akram before he heads to New York to play his final Grand Slam as a junior at the US Open in September.
Being at Wimbledon gave Bennani the chance to get a glimpse of the pinnacle of tennis and he even managed to get into Centre Court to catch a set of the third round clash between world No 1 Jannik Sinner and Spaniard Pedro Martinez.
“Sinner is playing a joke [level]. He destroyed him,” said Bennani. “I watched three games before my match just to see the atmosphere of the Centre court.
“As all the players said, it's the best tennis court ever. But I hope one day I will be playing on. It's better to be playing in the court than watching from the stadium.
“Sometimes I'm trying to visualise myself playing against those guys. Obviously, it's a dream to compete against these guys and to share the court with them. And I hope, Inshaallah, one day I will be playing against them. But I'm still really far from that level. I need to work much harder. And the journey is still really long.”
Bennani is still learning how to manage the pressure and his own expectations at tournaments and is realising focusing too much on the results often leads to him underperforming.
“I was putting too much pressure on myself saying, I have to do this result. For example, in Roland Garros, I said, I want to go really far. I have to do at least a quarter-final. And it's not helping because I lost first round,” he reflected.
“I was so tight. I was not enjoying that moment, which is not normal because you're in Roland Garros. And I was really mad after the match. So I felt that it was a bit too much pressure on myself.
“Also from the parents, family, people. So you just need to focus on yourself, not thinking about anything.”
Bennani grew up idolising Roger Federer and is also a big fan of Tunisian Ons Jabeur, who made history for African tennis and the Arab world when she reached three Grand Slam finals and rose to No 2 in the world.
Jabeur is currently taking a break from tennis but Bennani is certain she’ll “come back stronger”.
“Ons is a model for us Arab players,” he said.
“I still remember when I was watching her final against [Iga] Swiatek in the 2022 US Open. She was close. But I think she will win a Grand Slam for sure soon. She deserves it.
“And for the moment, I know she's passing through tough moments. But she's a big champion and she's going to come back stronger, for sure.”
