Selima Sfar
{{short description|Tunisian tennis player}}
{{Infobox tennis biography
| name = Selima Sfar
| image = Selima Sfar.jpg
| caption = Selima Sfar at the 2009 Open GDF Suez
| country = {{TUN}}
| residence = Biarritz, France
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1977|7|8}}
| birth_place = Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia
| height = 1.66 m
| turnedpro = 1999
| retired = 2011
| plays = Right (two-handed backhand)
| careerprizemoney = $876,041
| singlesrecord = {{tennis record|won=395|lost=383}}
| singlestitles = 11 ITF
| highestsinglesranking = No. 75 (16 July 2001)
| AustralianOpenresult = 1R (2002, 2005)
| FrenchOpenresult = 2R (2001, 2008)
| Wimbledonresult = 2R (2001, 2002, 2005)
| USOpenresult = 2R (2001)
| Othertournaments = yes
| Olympicsresult = 1R (1996, 2008)
| doublesrecord = {{tennis record|won=238|lost=201}}
| doublestitles = 21 ITF
| highestdoublesranking = No. 47 (28 July 2008)
| AustralianOpenDoublesresult = 2R (2006, 2008)
| FrenchOpenDoublesresult = 2R (2005, 2007)
| WimbledonDoublesresult = QF (2008)
| USOpenDoublesresult = 2R (2005, 2006, 2007)
| Team = yes
| FedCupresult = {{tennis record|won=41|lost=24}}
}}
Selima Sfar ({{langx|ar|سليمة صفر}} {{Transliteration|ar|Salima Safar}}; born 8 July 1977) is a Tunisian former tennis player.
She turned professional in 1999 and has been ranked as high as 75th in the world (16 July 2001). Sfar is the second highest ranked female Tunisian and Arab player. She has experienced most of her success in tournaments of the ITF Women's Circuit, winning 11 singles titles and 21 doubles titles.
Biography
Sfar started playing tennis at age 8 at the Tennis Club of Carthage. She left Tunis at age 12 to live and train with Nathalie Tauziat under coach Régis de Camaret in Biarritz, France. The serve-and-volleyer preferred indoor hardcourts; favorite shots were serve, backhand. Father, Moncef, is a physician; mother, Zeineb, is a dermatologist; older sister is Sonia and younger brother is Hassan. She is a granddaughter of Habib Cheikhrouhou who founded the press group Dar Assabah in 1951.
Tennis career
As a junior, Sfar won the Arab Junior Singles in 1992 and reached the quarter-finals of the junior tournament at French Open. In 1994, she was African junior champion. She turned professional in 1999. In 2000, she qualified for the US Open, to become the first Tunisian to achieve this feat. In the meantime, she was able to receive wildcards for Middle Eastern tournaments in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. At the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2001, she reached the quarterfinals, beating Silvija Talaja and Barbara Schett before being defeated by Nathalie Tauziat, in three sets. In that year, she became the first Arab woman to break into the top 100 of the WTA rankings.{{cite web |url=https://www.wtatennis.com/players/190473/name#rankingshistory |title=Selima Sfar |publisher=WTA Tennis }}
Sfar played for the Tunisia Fed Cup team, going 41–24. She also competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, losing in the first round to Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, and the 2008 Summer Olympics, losing in the first round to Caroline Wozniacki. Sfar holds the records for the Tunesian in the Fed Cup with the most wins, the most singles wins, the most doubles wins, the most ties played, and the most years played.{{cite web | title =Tunisia | work =Fed Cup teams | publisher =ITF | url =http://www.fedcup.com/teams/team.asp?team=TUN | access-date =2009-02-21 }}
At the 2005 African Cup of Nations in Tunis, Sfar won the gold medal at both the singles and mixed teams' competitions.{{cite web |url=http://www.cattennis.com/doc/eng/catinfo/CAT_News_N_51.pdf |title=The News Bulletin of the African Cup of Nations |publisher=CAT Tennis |page=2 |date=November 2005 }}
At the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, Sfar and her partner Ekaterina Makarova reached the quarterfinals of the ladies' doubles, before they were defeated by Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur.
In 2011, Sfar announced her retirement from professional tennis. In the meantime, she became a commentator for Qatari sports channel, beIN Sports.
At the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Sfar teamed with Martina Navratilova for the Invitational Ladies Doubles, and they won all three of their matches in their group.
Post-retirement
On 28 August 2023, Sfar had an interview with L'Équipe in which she accused her coach, Régis de Camaret, of rape and sexual abuse, when she was 12 and a half years old.{{cite web |url=https://www.lequipe.fr/Tennis/Article/Selima-sfar-victime-de-regis-de-camaret-j-ai-mis-vingt-cinq-ans-a-me-l-avouer/1416334 |title=Selima Sfar se dit victime de Régis de Camaret : " J'ai mis vingt-cinq ans à me l'avouer " |publisher=L'Équipe |language=fr |date=28 August 2023 }} The same coach was accused by Isabelle Demongeot of similar misconduct and later jailed for 8 years in 2012.{{Cite web|url=https://www.eurosport.com/tennis/french-tennis-coach-jailed-for-rapes_sto3503290/story.shtml|title = French tennis coach jailed for rapes|date = 23 November 2012}}
ITF finals
| class="wikitable" style="font-size:85%; width:15%;" |
| style="background:#f88379;"
| $100,000 tournaments |
| style="background:#f7e98e;"
| $75,000 tournaments |
| style="background:#addfad;"
| $50,000 tournaments |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| $25,000 tournaments |
| style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| $10,000 tournaments |
=Singles: 19 (11–8)=
| class="sortable wikitable"
!Result !No. !Date !Tournament !Surface !Opponent !class="unsortable" | Score |
| style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 1. | 14 August 1994 | ITF Carthage, Tunisia | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Anne-Gaëlle Sidot | 5–7, 6–3, 6–4 |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 2. | 26 March 1995 | ITF Moulins, France | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|NED}} Linda Sentis | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 3. | 26 November 1995 | ITF Le Havre, France | Clay (i) | {{flagicon|FRA}} Émilie Loit | 0–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 4. | 4 February 1996 | ITF Dinan, France | Clay (i) | {{flagicon|FRA}} Virginie Massart | 6–4, 7–6(8) |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 5. | 11 August 1996 | ITF Carthage, Tunisia | Clay | {{flagicon|NED}} Marielle Bruens | 7–5, 6–4 |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 6. | 14 December 1997 | ITF Ismailia, Egypt | Clay | {{flagicon|ISR}} Tzipora Obziler | 5–7, 7–5, 6–4 |
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 1. | 22 June 1998 | ITF Sezze, Italy | Clay | {{flagicon|ITA}} Alice Canepa | 5–7, 2–6 |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 7. | 30 April 2000 | ITF Bournemouth, United Kingdom | Clay | {{flagicon|SCG}} Dragana Zarić | 7–5, 6–2 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 2. | 17 July 2000 | ITF Le Touquet, France | Clay | {{flagicon|GER}} Bianka Lamade | 5–7, 4–6 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 3. | 31 July 2000 | Open Saint-Gaudens, France | Clay | {{flagicon|UKR}} Elena Tatarkova | 4–6, 4–6 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 8. | 22 September 2002 | GB Pro-Series Glasgow, UK | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|GBR}} Anne Keothavong | 7–6(5), 2–6, 7–6(8) |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 9. | 3 November 2002 | ITF Nottingham, United Kingdom | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|USA}} Lilia Osterloh | 6–2, 6–2 |
| style="background:#f7e98e;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 4. | 26 July 2004 | ITF Modena, Italy | Clay | {{flagicon|GER}} Anna-Lena Grönefeld | 2–6, 4–6 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 5. | 1 November 2004 | ITF Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|AUT}} Yvonne Meusburger | 4–6, 3–6 |
| style="background:#f7e98e;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 10. | 14 May 2006 | ITF Jounieh, Lebanon | Clay | {{flagicon|BLR}} Anastasiya Yakimova | 6–4, 7–5 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 6. | 10 April 2007 | Open de Biarritz, France | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Pauline Parmentier | 2–6, 4–6 |
| style="background:#f7e98e;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 11. | 13 May 2007 | ITF Jounieh, Lebanon | Clay | {{flagicon|UKR}} Mariya Koryttseva | 6–2, 4–6, 7–6(3) |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 7. | 7 April 2008 | Open de Biarritz, France | Clay | {{flagicon|GER}} Kathrin Wörle | 1–6, 3–6 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 8. | 5 July 2009 | ITF Mont-de-Marsan, France | Clay | {{flagicon|GRE}} Anna Gerasimou | 5–7, 3–6 |
=Doubles: 33 (21–12)=
| class="sortable wikitable"
!Result !No. !Date !Tournament !Surface !Partner !Opponents !class="unsortable"|Score |
| style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 1. | 25 July 1994 | ITF La Coruña, Spain | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Olivia de Camaret | {{flagicon|ESP}} Sandra de Rafael | 4–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 2. | 1 August 1994 | ITF Casablanca, Morocco | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Olivia de Camaret | {{flagicon|GER}} Cora Hofmann | 4–6, 6–1, 6–0 |
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 1. | 5 August 1996 | ITF Carthage, Tunisia | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Sandrine Bouilleau | {{flagicon|NED}} Mariëlle Bruens | w/o |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 3. | 21 April 1997 | ITF Guimarães, Portugal | Hard | {{flagicon|FRA}} Élodie Le Bescond | {{flagicon|FRA}} Kildine Chevalier | 6–4, 6–2 |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 4. | 8 December 1997 | ITF Ismailia, Egypt | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Bérangère Karpenschif | {{flagicon|AUT}} Bianca Kamper | 6–3, 7–6(5) |
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss
| 2. | 11 May 1998 | ITF Le Touquet, France | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Élodie Le Bescond | {{flagicon|FRA}} Vanina Casanova | 6–7, 0–1 ret. |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 5. | 22 June 1998 | ITF Sezze, Italy | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Vanina Casanova | {{flagicon|ITA}} Alice Canepa | 6–3, 6–1 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 6. | 20 July 1998 | ITF Valladolid, Spain | Hard | {{flagicon|ESP}} Gisela Riera | {{flagicon|ESP}} Eva Bes | 7–6(5), 7–6(3) |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 3. | 27 July 1998 | ITF Pamplona, Spain | Hard | {{flagicon|GER}} Meike Fröhlich | {{flagicon|ESP}} Eva Bes | w/o |
| style="background:#addfad;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 7. | 10 May 1999 | ITF Edinburgh, | Clay | {{flagicon|GBR}} Jo Ward | {{flagicon|RSA}} Surina De Beer | 6–4, 6–2 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 4. | 26 July 1999 | ITF Pamplona, Spain | Hard | {{flagicon|GBR}} Jo Ward | {{flagicon|JPN}} Hiroko Mochizuki | 6–2, 4–6, 3–6 |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 8. | 2 August 1999 | ITF Perigueux, France | Clay | {{flagicon|GBR}} Jo Ward | {{flagicon|FIN}} Hanna-Katri Aalto | 6–4, 6–3 |
| style="background:#f0f8ff;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 5. | 6 February 2000 | ITF Jersey, | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|GBR}} Jo Ward | {{flagicon|RUS}} Elena Bovina | 3–6, 2–6 |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 9. | 24 April 2000 | ITF Bournemouth, | Clay | {{flagicon|GBR}} Lorna Woodroffe | {{flagicon|GBR}} Hannah Collin | 6–1, 6–0 |
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win
| 10. | 1 May 2000 | ITF Hatfield, United Kingdom | Clay | {{flagicon|GBR}} Jo Ward | {{flagicon|HUN}} Zsófia Gubacsi | 7–6(6), 6–2 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 6. | 15 May 2000 | ITF Edinburgh, | Clay | {{flagicon|GBR}} Lorna Woodroffe | {{flagicon|RSA}} Natalie Grandin | 6–0, 3–6, 4–6 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 7. | {{dts|format=dmy|2002|11|03}} | ITF Nottingham, | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|GBR}} Lucie Ahl | {{flagicon|RSA}} Kim Grant | 1–6, 2–6 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 11. | {{dts|format=dmy|2003|4|20}} | Open de Biarritz, France | Clay | {{flagicon|GBR}} Lucie Ahl | {{flagicon|UKR}} Yuliya Beygelzimer | 6–1, 6–1 |
| style="background:#addfad;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 8. | {{dts|format=dmy|2003|08|18}} | Bronx Open, United States | Hard | {{flagicon|ITA}} Mara Santangelo | {{flagicon|UKR}} Yuliya Beygelzimer | 4–6, 5–7 |
| style="background:#f7e98e;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 12. | 13 September 2004 | ITF Bordeaux, France | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|ARG}} Erica Krauth | 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 9. | 10 October 2004 | Open de Touraine, France | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|CZE}} Květa Peschke | w/o |
| style="background:#addfad;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 13. | 18 October 2004 | ITF Saint-Raphaël, France | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|CZE}} Barbora Strýcová | 7–6(3), 2–6, 6–4 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 14. | 1 November 2004 | ITF Sint-Katelijne-Waver, | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|FRA}} Virginie Pichet | {{flagicon|SVK}} Eva Fislová | 6–1, 7–6(2) |
| style="background:#f7e98e;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 15. | 23 November 2004 | ITF Poitiers, France | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|CZE}} Gabriela Chmelinová | 7–5, 6–4 |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 16. | 12 April 2005 | Open de Biarritz, France | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|SUI}} Timea Bacsinszky | 6–2, 6–1 |
| style="background:#addfad;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 17. | 15 November 2005 | ITF Deauville, France | Clay (i) | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|UKR}} Alona Bondarenko | 6–3, 6–1 |
| style="background:#addfad;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 10. | 26 March 2007 | ITF Latina, Italy | Hard | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|ITA}} Sara Errani | 3–6, 6–1, 6–7(2) |
| style="background:#f7e98e;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 11. | 6 April 2008 | ITF Torhout, Belgium | Hard | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Alor | {{flagicon|RUS}} Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova | 4–6, 6–4, [8–10] |
| style="background:#f7e98e;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 18. | 20 July 2009 | ITF Pétange, Luxembourg | Clay | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|CRO}} Darija Jurak | 6–2, 3–6, [10–7] |
| style="background:#addfad;"
| bgcolor=98FB98 | Win | 19. | 12 October 2009 | Open de Touraine, France | Hard | {{flagicon|FRA}} Youlia Fedossova | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | 4–6, 6–0, [10–8] |
| style="background:#addfad;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 20. | 22 February 2010 | Biberach Open, Germany | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|GER}} Mona Barthel | 5–7, 6–1, [10–5] |
| style="background:#addfad;"
| style="background:#ffa07a;"|Loss | 12. | 17 October 2010 | Open de Touraine, France | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|GER}} Tatjana Malek | 4–6, 7–5, [8–10] |
| style="background:lightblue;"
| style="background:#98fb98;"|Win | 21. | 24 January 2011 | Open de l'Isère, France | Hard (i) | {{flagicon|FRA}} Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | {{flagicon|FRA}} Iryna Brémond | 6–1, 6–3 |
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{sports links}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sfar, Selima}}
Category:Sportspeople from Tunis Governorate
Category:Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in France
Category:Tunisian expatriate sportspeople in Qatar
Category:Tunisian female tennis players
Category:Olympic tennis players for Tunisia
Category:Tennis players at the 1996 Summer Olympics
Category:Tennis players at the 2000 Summer Olympics
Category:Tennis players at the 2008 Summer Olympics