Dubai: Karim Najia is an enigma, even to his mother. He is definitely a star in the making, presently ranked No 1 in the under-14 category in the UAE at just 11 and, to add to it, has just landed himself a major sponsorship deal with Just Falafel who will take care of his coaching, tournament, travelling and equipment expenses for the ongoing year. But none of this seems to have left any mark on the shy youngster.
"He's always been like that. I don't think he even understands the full implication," his mother Claudine told XPRESS.
Hard to tell given Karim barely shows any emotion on court even when he is winning, which is more often than not. He got a chance to meet some of the world's top tennis players during the Mubadala Tennis Championships for the past two years, but skipped the opportunity and instead went to play a tournament in France. This year, though, he did meet David Ferrer, another unassuming player like himself.
"I had never met Ferrer before but I like him a lot and so do my parents," he said.
Karim began playing at the age of four and has since trained with Peter Burwash International, before moving to the Al Wasl club, where he remains under the tutorship of head coach Francois Danican. In recent years, he has won the Under-12 national title twice and is currently leading the Under 14 table for 2011/12. As well as his training and competitions, Karim has also been fortunate enough to have shared the same court with greats of the game like Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
It's evident that a great future awaits the youngster, but for now, he only plans to play the under-16 regularly when he turns 12 and ITF events when he turns 13.
"I will turn 12 this May and will then be competing in under-16s regularly. I play a few tournaments even now. But I'll still have to wait another year in order to play ITF events," he said.
A self-confessed Novak Djokovic fan, the Grade VI student of Lycee Georges Pompidou school eventually wants to turn pro. "I want to play more in Europe and the US. I have been going to France for the past two years to play in the TCBB tournament which has seen players like [Richard] Gasquet and [Gilles] Simon take part," he said.
The family has decided to stick on in Dubai for now, but the eventual dream for his mother Claudine is for her son to get a scholarship in the US.
"We don't want to force anything on him, but it would be great if he can go to the US on a scholarship. That way he can keep playing tennis as well," she said.
Claudine is Australian, while Karim's father Aboudi is Lebanese. "We had an offer from the Lebanese tennis federation to have Karim representing them, something we may consider in the future," she added.
For now though, Karim is happy beating rivals much older than himself.
Eating right
Karim embodies Just Falafel's healthy living and healthy eating philosophy. His breakfast consists of
Weetabix, or wholemeal bread toast, followed by pasta for lunch. He also manages to have a a Just Falafel burger thrown in sometimes for dinner for, as he says: "they have an outlet right below my apartment".
