Arab athlete women leading the way in sports

Ons Jabeur a Tunisian professional tennis player. She has a career-high Women's Tennis Association ranking of No. 51 in the world. Jabeur reached at the 2020 Australian Open to become the first Arab woman to reach a quarterfinal of a Grand Slam tournament. She is also the highest-ranked Arab player in WTA history.

Hania Fouda, an Egyptian archer who started her career in sports in 2008 when she joined Egypt archery national team. In 2010 Hania came first in the Arab championship for both senior and junior categories, and in 2014 Won the gold medal in the African championship, and got the 3rd place with a bronze in African championship 2016. In 2016 Summer Olympics Hania won the third place for the women’s individual re-curve competition.

Noor Al Malki, a 17-year-old sprinter from Qatar and member of the Qatari Olympic team. Al Malki competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics and became one of the the first female athletes to represent her country at the Olympic Games. She began training as an athlete in 2008, under the guidance of Tunisian coach and former international middle-distance runner Naima Ben Amara. Won the Qatar Association of Athletics Federation’s (QAAF) ‘Best Female Athlete’ in 2010-11. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, Malki suffered a pulled hamstring steps out of the starting blocks. Her race ended in sudden pain on the track, eventually taken off in a wheelchair.

Enas Mohamed Ghareb, 24, long jumper and triple jumper, Egypt. "There are a lot of girls in Egypt that get encouragement, but as we get older, the support becomes more of an issue. Yet we go out and challenge this. We do not want to be discouraged from sports because we have grown up. Let us play until we decide to stop. There shouldn't be any prejudice against us continuing," Ghareb is quoted as saying, to the Financial Times.

Egyptian Olympic swimmer Farida Osman is a competitive swimmer who specializes in butterfly and freestyle events. She competed in two Olympic games and set a new African record. Farida made a name for herself as one of the best professional swimmers in the region. “What drives me and just makes me really ambitious is breaking barriers,” said Osman in an event last year in Abu Dhabi.

Egyptian marathon runner Manal Rostom, based in UAE and is the first hijab-wearing Nike running coach, and the first woman to complete in the New York marathon wearing the Nike Pro Hijab. Manal completed six major marathons. “I am a bit biased as I have always fought for the presence of Muslim, Hijabi women in sports just to demolish the negative image of Muslim women worldwide being too lazy, boring or uncool.” Manal told Emirates women in an interview.

Sarah Attar is an inspiration to all Saudi women. The track and field athlete made history after competing at the 2012 Summer Olympics as one of two women to first represent Saudi Arabia in the Olympics. The 27-year-old also competed in the marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympics and now she is training to compete in Tokyo 2020 Olympics aiming to qualify this time. Sara told Arabian business "That would be the first time that a Saudi woman qualifies for the Olympics," said Attar, also a United States citizen. "So not only are we participating, but we are now qualifying also. So it's a big goal right now."

Habiba Ghribi is a Tunisian middle- and long-distance runner, won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, giving her country its first Olympic medal by a woman

Zahra Lari the first Emirati figure skater from the UAE to compete internationally. She’s also the first figure skater to compete in a hijab, making her an inspiration to both Arab and Muslim women across the globe. She is also the UAE’s first figure skater to participate in the winter qualifications last year. She led the UAE’s mission to become the first Arab state to join the International Skating Union.

Raneem El Welily, Egypt has been dominating squash, both in the women and men competitions. Currently, the top 10 PSA World Ranking for women includes four Egyptian players, three of whom occupy the first three spots. Raneem El Welily, holds the first, and reached a career-high world ranking of No. 1 in September, 2015. She was a two-time finalist at the World Open in 2014 and 2016. She became the World Champion in 2017, after defeating fellow Egyptian Nour El Sherbini in the finals.

Ines Boubakri is a Tunisian foil fencer and a two-time Olympian. She took part in the 2012 Olympic Games in London, reaching the quarter final. Four years later, at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro she won a bronze medal, making her the first Tunisian female to win such a medal at the Olympics.

Ruqaya Al Ghasra, Bahraini athlete sprinter, and one of the first women to represent the Gulf nations at the Olympic Games, back in 2004. In 2006 she participated in the Asian Games in Doha and won the Women’s 200m. This was Bahrain’s first major international athletics gold medal.

Mahassen Hala, first woman to represent Lebanon in Olympic weightlifting and in numerous other international competitions. She represented Lebanon at the 2018 Mediterranean Games and earned the first international medal for Lebanon in women’s Olympic weightlifting.