Mayar Sherif

2.1. Career milestones

Mayar Sherif has made significant history for Egyptian tennis throughout her career, achieving several national "firsts":

• She became the first Egyptian female player to compete in a Grand Slam main draw at the 2020 French Open.
• At the 2021 Australian Open, she became the first woman from her nation to win a Grand Slam main-draw match.
• She was the first Egyptian woman to qualify for the Olympic Games, doing so for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after winning the 2019 African Games.
• Sherif also became the first Egyptian woman to reach a WTA Tour singles and doubles final, achieving this at the 2021 Winners Open in Cluj-Napoca.
• In 2022, she claimed her first WTA Tour singles title at the Emilia-Romagna Open, becoming the first Egyptian woman to win a WTA Tour event.
• She made history again at the 2023 Madrid Open, becoming the first Egyptian player to reach a WTA 1000 quarterfinal.
• Her ascent to world No. 31 on June 19, 2023, marked her as the highest-ranked Egyptian player, male or female, in the Open Era.

2.2. 2019-2020: Grand Slam and WTA Tour debuts

Sherif began the 2020 season by making her first appearance at a WTA tournament in the qualifiers of the Australian Open, where she lost in the first round to Ann Li. In March, she secured a title at a $25,000 ITF tournament in Antalya, defeating Dalma Gálfi in the final.

In August, at the Prague Open, Sherif successfully navigated the qualifying rounds to make her main-draw debut at the WTA Tour-level. She faced Laura Siegemund in the first round, losing in three sets. In late September 2020, Sherif distinguished herself by qualifying for the French Open, triumphing over Camila Osorio, Caty McNally, and Giulia Gatto-Monticone. This marked her Grand Slam main-draw debut as the first Egyptian female player to achieve this feat. In her opening match, she faced the second seed and world No. 3, Karolína Plíšková, ultimately losing in a competitive three-set encounter.

2.3. 2021: Olympic qualification and WTA top 100 debut

Mayar Sherif continued to make history for Egyptian tennis in 2021. At the Australian Open, she became the first Egyptian woman to win a match in a Grand Slam main draw, defeating Chloe Paquet in the first round.

She qualified for the Indian Wells tournament, marking her WTA 1000 debut, and secured her first victory at this level by defeating Zheng Saisai. She also received a wildcard entry for the WTA 1000 Miami Open. A significant milestone was achieved when Sherif, as the first Egyptian woman, qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, a qualification she earned by winning the 2019 African Games.

Sherif further cemented her trailblazing status by becoming the first Egyptian woman to reach both a WTA Tour singles and doubles final at the Cluj-Napoca tournament. In the singles event, she defeated top seed Alizé Cornet, Alex Eala, Kristína Kučová, and Mihaela Buzărnescu before ultimately losing to Andrea Petkovic in the final. Partnering with Katarzyna Piter in doubles, she reached the final but was defeated by the team of Natela Dzalamidze and Kaja Juvan. As a direct result of these achievements, Sherif broke into the WTA top 100 on August 9, 2021, reaching world No. 97, a first for an Egyptian woman. She also attained a career-high doubles ranking of No. 154.

2.4. 2022: Maiden WTA title and ranking ascent

In 2022, Mayar Sherif continued her ascent in the professional rankings, making her debut in the WTA singles top 50 and reaching world No. 98 in doubles on May 16.

At the French Open, she again made history by becoming the first Egyptian woman to win a main-draw match at Roland Garros, overcoming Marta Kostyuk in straight sets. However, she was forced to withdraw from the tournament in the second round due to a foot injury.

A significant highlight of her season came at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, Italy. Sherif navigated through the draw, defeating Anna Bondár, Simona Waltert, Lauren Davis, and Ana Bogdan to reach her second WTA 250 final, and her first since the previous summer. In a landmark match, she then defeated the top seed and world No. 7, Maria Sakkari, in straight sets to claim her first career singles title on the WTA Tour. This victory not only made her the first woman from Egypt to win a WTA Tour title but also marked her first career win against a top-10 player.

2.5. 2023: WTA 1000 quarterfinal and historic ranking

The 2023 season proved to be another landmark year for Mayar Sherif. At the Madrid Open, she achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first Egyptian player to reach a WTA 1000 singles quarterfinal. On her path to the quarterfinals, she defeated Camila Giorgi (by retirement), 30th seed Anhelina Kalinina, world No. 5 Caroline Garcia, and 24th seed Elise Mertens. Her remarkable run was eventually ended by Aryna Sabalenka in the quarterfinal.

Sherif further extended her success on the WTA Challenger Tour, winning her second WTA 125 title at the Open Internacional de Valencia, which followed her triumph at the Makarska International Championships just two weeks prior. These victories contributed to her reaching a historic career-high ranking of No. 31 in the singles rankings on June 19, 2023. This achievement cemented her position as the highest-ranked Egyptian player, male or female, in the Open Era. Notably, no other player had won more than three WTA Challenger titles since the level was introduced in 2012, highlighting Sherif's exceptional dominance at this tier with six titles by this point.

2.6. 2024: Notable tournament results and doubles title

Mayar Sherif continued to compete actively in the 2024 season, demonstrating consistent performance. In April, she reached the third round at the Madrid Open, securing wins against Lauren Davis and 25th seed Marta Kostyuk, before being defeated by world No. 4 Elena Rybakina.

In early May, she reached the final of the Catalonia Open in Lleida, Spain, where she faced Kateřina Siniaková in a nearly three-hour match, ultimately finishing as runner-up. Later that month, at the Italian Open in Rome, Sherif advanced to the third round, notably defeating 11th seed Jasmine Paolini before her run was ended by 25th seed Victoria Azarenka in three sets. The following week, she was a runner-up at the Emilia-Romagna Open in Parma, Italy, losing to Anna Karolína Schmiedlová. Sherif faced another final defeat at her next tournament, the Morocco Open, where she was beaten by Peyton Stearns. In June, she reached the final of the Makarska International in an attempt to defend her title, but lost to Katie Volynets in three sets. In July, Sherif was the runner-up at the Grand Est Open 88 in Contrexéville, France, losing to Lucia Bronzetti in a match lasting over three-and-a-half hours. As the top seed at the Hamburg European Open in August, she reached the quarterfinals before being defeated by Olga Danilović.

In doubles, Sherif achieved significant success. Partnering with Anna Blinkova, she won the doubles title at the Jasmin Open in September, defeating Alina Korneeva and Anastasia Zakharova in the final. In November, alongside Nina Stojanović, she secured another doubles title at the WTA 125 Copa LP Chile. Later that month, Sherif clinched the singles title at the WTA 125 Argentina Open, triumphing over Katarzyna Kawa in a three-set final.

3.1. Performance timelines

The following tables summarize Mayar Sherif's annual match records and win-loss statistics in main-draw events of Grand Slam tournaments, WTA Tour events, and Olympic Games.

3.2. WTA Tour finals

Mayar Sherif has participated in WTA Tour finals across both singles and doubles disciplines.

3.3. WTA Challenger finals

Mayar Sherif has appeared in WTA Challenger finals for both singles and doubles, accumulating a significant number of titles.

3.4. ITF Circuit finals

Mayar Sherif has had extensive participation and success on the ITF Circuit, reaching numerous finals in both singles and doubles categories.

3.5. Head-to-head records

Mayar Sherif has competed against some of the top players in the sport, with a recorded win-loss record against players ranked in the top 10 at the time of their match.

• She holds a 2-6 record against players who were, at the time the match was played, ranked in the top 10.