Saturday 11 / January / 2025
“We complement each other in a way that makes us better athletes. During training, we push each other by competing, and during games, we support each other from the stands.” Meet Sarah Al Balushi and Maryam Al Balushi, Oman’s Williams sisters and learn how competitiveness has brought them together rather than driving them apart.
Bundles of talent and energy, Sarah and Maryam started playing tennis as a weekend hobby. They have now represented the Sultanate in more than 60 international and national tournaments, including the just-concluded Asian Games.
“I started playing tennis at the age of seven. My sister and I were lured into the sport by our mother. We used to play tennis every weekend at Grand Hyatt Hotel just for fun,” reminisced Sarah.
Maryam began playing tennis at the age of four. “I never felt the pressure to play tennis because my sister was already playing it. I simply liked the sport,” she added.
Sarah was overweight as a child and took up the sport to improve her fitness and health. Soon, Maryam also joined her for the love of it.
Off the court, 22-year-old Sarah is studying for a bachelors degree in Accounting and Finance and is in her last year at the College of Banking and Financial Studies. Maryam, who is 18, is studying Business and is in her first year at The Modern College of Business and Science.
Sarah has won several medals and trophies. At Rabat, Morocco, in 2016 she won Gold in the team’s category and Bronze in the doubles. She won Gold in the doubles, Gold in the team’s category and Bronze in the singles category of the GCC tennis tournament in 2015.
“I have participated in around 60 tournaments internationally and nationally. It means a lot to me to be able to represent my country,” said Sarah.
The pressure can be overwhelming at times when training for international tournaments. “It is hard sometimes because you’re under a lot of pressure because so many people expect a lot. Apart from that, there are so many people watching you,” said Sarah.
Maryam said that over the years tennis had been great in developing her as an individual. She stressed that before entering the court, a player should always be prepared physically and mentally.
Maryam has participated in more national tournaments than her older sister. “It is difficult to put a number on it because I’ve been playing tennis for nearly 14 years now. Locally, I play more, but she [Sarah] participates in more international tournaments,” said Maryam.
Sarah and Maryam have both been well accepted by the Omani society as professional female tennis players. “In the beginning, there were negative comments, especially about the way we dress, but apart from that everyone have been very supportive of my sister and me. At the end of the day, there is always negativity but most of it is a positive response,” said Sarah.
“It means a lot to be able to represent Oman. We don’t have a lot of players who get the chance to represent the country, and so they depend on us a lot. To be able to break some records would be great,” added Sarah.
Being a part of the national team and finding time for academics can be challenging. However, these two have managed their time well. “I am trying to balance between my last year at university and tennis,” said Sarah. “I am looking forward to graduating, as I feel I’ll have more opportunities to participate in tournaments abroad. Being in university, it is very difficult for me to travel and when you want to improve your level in tennis it’s all about exposure. You have to travel and experience to get points. That is how you get recognition,” she added.
The girls train three hours a day to maintain their level of performance and endurance. “I train six days a week, so my day starts with college in the morning, then I come home for lunch, then to the gym for an hour, then to the stadium for tennis practice. After that I go home, work on assignments, sleep and repeat the same thing the next day,” said Sarah.
Living in Al Ghubra means that the girls are only 10 minutes from the stadium, which saves them time. Having family around during difficult times can be very helpful in staying positive.
Maryam said, “When I am playing a match, she [Sarah] is by the court with me, so if I am ever down, she is there to motivate me to do better.”
She added, “We complement each other, in a way that makes us better athletes. For instance, during training we push each other by competing against each other, and during games, we support each other from the stands.”
Sarah has a slightly different view. “I am a good support system for my sister, but not the other way around. It could be because I know how to talk to her when she is down, to make her feel better. It doesn’t work the other way around,” said Sarah.
Though she is a serious young athlete, Maryam still enjoys doing the things teenagers do. “Honestly if I am ever free, I really love just sleeping or watching serials.”
Although football and not tennis is the most popular sport in the Sultanate, all the athletes in the national team are treated equally, the sisters said. “For the Asian Games, when we travelled with the football team, we were all treated equally,” they said.
So how do they stay upbeat and motivated? “My parents are definitely my biggest support. Sometimes when I get bored of doing the same thing daily, they are always there to push me and motivate me and show me how far I’ve come,” said Sarah.
Many a time, what makes an athlete great is the ability to learn from mistakes. “Recently we had a tournament in Bahrain, and I had a match point against Iran and I lost that match. It was devastating as it was our only loss in that tournament. So, I learned to push myself during training to make up for the mistakes that I’ve made in the past,” said Sarah.
“I always play against an Ecuadorian girl; sometimes I would win and sometimes she would. In a recent match we had, I was close to winning but then she beat me. I learned so much from that match, like how to avoid making silly mistakes, and especially not to freak out when there is a match point,” said Maryam.
Sarah hopes to continue to represent Oman globally, in addition to improving as a tennis player. “Playing two to four tournaments a year, it isn’t going to make much of a difference. There are so many people my age who have won grand slams and very big tournaments, so I have kind of lost hope in being a top-level professional tennis player. However, I want to improve my level just to represent my country,” she said.
