Rabat – Morocco’s Malak El Allami made history by becoming the first Moroccan to win the US Open Junior Doubles Championship.
The Moroccan tennis player won the tournament on Saturday with partner Emily Sartz-Lunde, playing against Julia Stusek and Julie Pastikova.
“I am very happy to win such a prestigious tournament,” she said, noting that the win is the culmination of several years of sustained effort.
Quoted by Go Columbian Lions, the Columbia University sports newspaper, the Moroccan tennis player also extended her thanks to her federation, family, and Moroccans who supported her throughout the tournament. El Allami is a first-year in the tennis program at the prestigious New York University.
The source emphasized that both the Moroccan tennis player and her partner in the game faced a “challenging road” throughout the tournament.
“They needed some version of a tiebreak in the first three rounds to reach the semifinals. Once they got there, the duo picked up a straight-set (6-3,6-4) win on Friday to set up the championship match,” the report added.
From Casablanca, El Allami is no stranger to fierce tennis competition as she competed in the junior singles brackets, where she reached the second round.
She also played in grand slam events and competed at the 2023 Australian Open.
In 2023, she was part of the Moroccan women’s team which won the 60th edition of the Billie Jean King Cup in Nairobi.
El Allami and Aya El Aouni sealed victory for the national team, beating the Tunisian duo Feryel Ben Hassen and Chiraz Bechri two sets to one (7-6/6-3/6-0).
With the wins, the Moroccan tennis players secured their place in the Euro-Africa tournament in 2024 to represent the African continent.
