As a 15-year-old in 1984 he burst on to the scene by finishing runner-up in the UAE National Tennis Championships.
After a nine-year break, spent, amongst other things, graduating from university, he made a sensational return to the UAE, where in a whirlwind season he won every tournament he played and fulfilled a key role in the Davis Cup team.
Now 42 and "happily married with four wonderful children and a wonderful wife", Salem Bin Dasmal's focus and ambitions may have changed, but tennis stills holds a special place in his heart.
Although life has clearly been good to him, Salem admits that the sport has left him with a big regret — not taking himself seriously enough at his peak.
He wishes he pushed harder towards realising his dream of playing at Wimbledon.
"I had a love hate relationship with the game," he said of his perspective on the game. "I have a lot of happy memories, particularly playing with my dad.
"But I think I played the sport more for show, than with my head. As a youngster I remember I was losing matches that I should have been winning.
"Initially it was quite frustrating because I was doing all sorts of things, but not doing the right things. Then I started learning and began to modify my game. I was getting better and better."
Video: UAE tennis champ seeks major improvements to boost tennis in the grassroots
Shortly after his return from the University of Southern California in the early ‘90s Salem was virtually unbeatable. His breakthrough year came in 1993 where he blitzed every opponent to win the National Championship, Dubai Open and the then-popular Super League. He was also a key member of the UAE Davis Cup squad, playing in 12 ties and winning five of them.
Happy memories
"I was really enjoying my tennis," Salem said with a glint in his eye. "I also have happy memories of winning the National doubles title with my father.
"I probably have stronger memories of that win because he actually got injured with a bad calf cramp and wanted to stop. But I said that there's no giving up because we've come this far. I told him that even if he stood in one part of the court and I played against our opponents by myself, we had to endure and attempt to win, which we did."
Salem comes from a sporting family. His father Khalifa, a former football and tennis champion, is a passionate horse lover, breeder and Epsom Derby-winning owner. His mother Lynn, an accomplished rider herself, was the backbone of the Dubai Equestian Centre. His sisters, Leila and Ameena, and his brother Mohammad, are champion show-jumpers.
"It's a wonderful feeling being born in a sporting family," he said. "We've been very fortunate to have got the genes from our parents who are passionate about sport.
"As a youngster I fell in love with both tennis and football, but I actually gravitated towards football more than tennis, to the frustration of my father. But I was probably a more talented tennis player than a football player and I should have focused more on tennis. But nonetheless I played it at a very young age — I was 10 at the time, although I believe I should have started five years earlier.
Losing to his dad
"I remember being virtually the only junior around and I was playing against adults. I lost to my dad in the finals of the National Championships in 1984 when I was just 15. Then I went to college in America and forgot all about tennis.
"But on my return to the UAE after college I immediately took the plunge and got back into the game. I was amazingly positive and excited about it and went on to play some of my best tennis. I was 23 at the time and the year was 1993."
So how involved is he with the game now? What's his take on the state of UAE tennis? What needs to be done to ensure that the sport can flourish? "I'm very disappointed about how tennis has taken shape in the UAE and I shoulder some of the responsibility being a past champion and being a role model," he said.
"I should have put in more effort into the development of the sport. I have failed at that.
Setting objectives
"The tennis federation has done a fair job of advancing the sport but we have so much more to do — we need to set higher and loftier objectives and goals.
"I think we should shoot for an Olympic champion in ten years. We need to set those lofty goals and strive to achieve them. I would also like to see the Municipality construct more public tennis courts. We don't have any, which is a real shame.
"I think the lack of facilities and the lack of role models are the problem. Golf has taken off in the country as there have been stronger role models and better investment.
"There hasn't been a corresponding investment in tennis. If there was, maybe we'd see different results."
There is no doubt that Salem remains passionate about tennis. Most of all he wants to see the sport flourish. You get the sense that with him involved, something good is bound to happen.
Fact file: Salem Bin Dasmal
- Born: Dubai 1969
- Nationality: Emirati
- Sport: Tennis (football, golf)
- Playing style: Right-handed
- Achievements: National Champion (1993), runner-up 1984, represented UAE in Davis Cup (1993-95).
- Occupation: CEO, The Grooming Company, Dubai, and Vice-Chairman of the Bin Dasmal Group.
