Mansour Bahrami is a former professional tennis player. He is Iranian with dual French nationality since 1989. His showmanship has made him a long-standing and popular figure in invitational tournaments. When the Iranian team was short of players, Bahrami was permitted to play the game on a tennis court. His talent was obvious and he reached the Davis Cup team (and helped the team to victory at the age of just 16) but in the late 1970s the Islamic Revolution within Iran led to tennis being viewed as a capitalist and elitist sport. He spent the next three years playing backgammon as all tennis courts were closed down. In desperation, he fled to France with his life savings.