Abtal

In the first episode of Abtal, host Reem Abulleil is joined by two iconic Arab tennis players, Tunisian Ons Jabeur and Egyptian Mayar Sherif, for their first interview together.

Ons is the highest-ranked African woman and Arab player in tennis history and Mayar is the second-highest ranked Arab woman in history and the highest-ranked Egyptian tennis player ever.

The conversation features their journeys from their early days trying to make it in tennis, and how each of them has taken a completely different path to the top echelons of women’s tennis, reflecting on the key decisions they made along the way.

Ons and Mayar also share the turning points in their respective careers, the highs, the lows, the desperation that comes with trying to break through and the pressure that comes with finally doing well.

Ons opens up about her heartbreaking defeat in the 2023 Wimbledon final, while Mayar reveals what really pushed her to pursue a career in professional tennis halfway through college.

They share stories from their previous appearances at the Olympics and even quiz each other on things they’ve always wanted to learn about one another.

You can listen to the full conversation on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and all major podcasting platforms, or watch the full interview on The National News YouTube channel.

This series is produced by The National's multimedia department.

Abtal is a new podcast series from The National News, hosted by sports journalist Reem Abulleil, that is dedicated to Arab athletes and their respective journeys towards the Paris 2024 Olympics.

In Arabic, the same word is used for both champions and heroes, and that is Abtal. In this series, Reem delves deep into the lives of the region's sporting heroes, focusing on the human behind the athlete, the pressures they endure and the mentality they adopt to perform and excel.

Through conversations with the athletes in this series, we get a chance to view them in a different light, one that goes beyond their results or popularity or status.

This series is produced by The National's multimedia department.

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