Abu Dhabi: Tennis trickshot ace Mansour Bahrami began playing his beloved sport with a piece of wood and the palm of his hand in his native Iran. He later became destitute on the streets of Paris, before being described by tennis legend Rod Laver as being the finest player to have picked up a racket.
It’s certainly been a tumultuous sporting journey for the 58-year-old, who is set to appear at the inaugural ‘Fortnum & Mason presents Tennis at The Palace’ exhibition event in Abu Dhabi between Thursday and Saturday.
Throughout his extreme lows and highs, however, his innate ardour for tennis and unstinting desire to entertain have never wavered. This weekend, he is hoping to beguile spectators at Emirates Palace in a similar vein to how he has enthralled packed crowds at grandiose venues such as Wimbledon.
Of his tennis debut in Abu Dhabi, Bahrami told Gulf News in an exclusive telephone interview: “I was there four years ago or five years ago as I am an ambassador for the Laureus World Sports Awards. I’ve never played tennis there before, but it’s a beautiful place with great people.
“I am very excited about coming there.”
Bahrami will be joining more high-profile names such as former Wimbledon champions Richard Krajicek, Pat Cash, Marion Bartoli and Jana Novotna at the event,
But what he lacks in trophies compared to this more renowned quartet, he makes up for in instinctive and unorthodox tennis talent allied to his comedic ability. He is famed for playing shots behind his back or through his legs, for instance, making him a massive draw on the popular tennis legends’ circuit.
Known as ‘The Court Jester’, he has attracted high praise from 11-time grand slam singles champion Laver and the American great John McEnroe, who once called the Iranian maestro ‘a genius’.
“People pay money to come and see me wherever I go,” Bahrami said, pointing out that often fans burst out laughing at the mere sight of his mischievous grin before he has played a shot. “I am not pretending to be a great tennis player — I haven’t won a grand slam tournament, I haven’t been number one in the world, I haven’t won the Davis Cup. Yet wherever I play tennis, people come to see me. It’s a great feeling.
“Rod Laver said I was the most talented player who ever picked up a racket,” the Iranian, who reached career-highs of 192 and 31 in the world rankings in singles and doubles respectively, added. “It’s great coming from people like him and McEnroe. I love them. They are true legends of the sport.”
Few could have foreseen such glowing testimonies given Bahrami’s humble beginnings, however.
His father was the gardener in Tehran’s main tennis complex and the young Bahrami’s curiosity for the game was pricked by the ‘forbidden’ aspect of being refused entry to the courts.
His family was too poor to buy a racket for him, though, so Bahrami improvised with a piece of wood or the palm of his hand from the age of five or six and went on to become a ball boy.
“I’ve never had a coach or a tennis lesson in my whole life,” he said. “So these things that I do on a tennis court, I’ve done since I was 10 or 12 years old. I’ve never had someone say: ‘Stop this nonsense, you have to play serious tennis’.”
However, the great entertainer’s tennis odyssey would be pockmarked by adversity, with Bahrami lamenting that he was prevented from reaching his full potential.
His travails began with the 1979 Iranian Revolution, when all professional sports were banned.
Two years later, Bahrami’s tennis dreams were reignited when he received a ticket to France after winning Tehran’s Revolution Cup — but he frittered away the little money he had.
Steadfastly refusing to seek political asylum as a refugee, as doing so would have prevented him returning home ever, Bahrami suffered a desperately frugal existence.
Even if he won a tournament, his winnings would only amount to ‘£50’, rarely enough to cover his food and living costs.
“Sometimes I had nowhere to sleep and nothing to eat,” he recalled. “I was just walking overnight in the streets of Paris. Sometimes one baguette would be my food for two days. Between the ages of 20 and 30, I didn’t play competitively. Those are the best years of any sportsman, not only tennis players.”
Dogged perseverance in minor tournaments in France would finally be rewarded with a path to centre stage when Bahrami reached the 1989 French Open doubles final with Eric Winogradsky.
His career truly flourished in 1993, however, when the ATP Champions Tour was launched for players aged over 35 and he rubbed shoulders with luminaries such as Bjorn Borg, McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.
Yet fame and fortune were never driving forces for Bahrami.
“I didn’t play tennis to become a millionaire,” he said. “When I am done with my match, I am always happy to see people leaving the court with a big smile.
“That, for me, is the most important thing.”
For more information and ticket packages for ‘Fortnum & Mason presents Tennis at The Palace’, visit www.tennisatthepalace.ae.
