Amir Hadad

Hadad was born in 1978 and grew up in Ramla, Israel.[3] He began playing tennis at age seven and developed his game at the Wingate Institute's gifted-athletes boarding school, as part of a cohort that included Andy Ram, Yoni Erlich, and Harel Levy.[3][4] He later trained for two years in Ramat HaSharon before turning professional in 1995.[1]

Hadad was called up to Israel's Davis Cup team in 1998, making his debut against Austria.[3] He won five championships in Israel as part of the Ramla club.[3] Before a significant knee injury sustained ahead of the 1999 Israeli national championship, his world ranking had climbed as high as No. 230.[3] He underwent surgery in Budapest, and it was not until late 2000 that he reported the pain had finally subsided.[3]

Hadad won the Israeli national tennis championship in December 2000, defeating Yoni Erlich, Noam Bar, and Noam Okun to claim the title.[3] Ranked 888th in the world at the time, he described the difficult competition as giving him confidence and momentum heading into the following season.[3] After the title, Hadad said he intended to continue training in Europe under Günter Bresnik, a former coach of Boris Becker and Amos Mansdorf. The arrangement had been initiated by the Israeli tennis association and coach Oded Yaakov.[3]

At the 2002 French Open, Hadad qualified for the main draw and reached the second round, where he lost to Finland's Jarkko Nieminen in four sets. It was only his second Grand Slam appearance, following a first-round singles loss at Wimbledon in 1999.[1] He reached his career-high singles ranking of No. 187 in July 2002 and his career-high doubles ranking of No. 85 in June 2003.[1]

In mid-July 2002, Hadad and Martin Vassallo Arguello won the doubles final at the Seascape Challenger Tournament.[1] In 2003, he won the Ho Chi Minh tournament in Vietnam, defeating Yuri Schukin in the final, and added doubles titles in Groningen, Rome, San Remo, and Kyoto.[1] A 2005 report noted that Hadad won a Futures tournament in Turkey, though the economics of such events were stark: with a total prize fund of $10,000, even a tournament victory could leave a player with only around $200–$300 after travel and accommodation costs.[5] An October 2005 ranking report placed him at No. 282 in the world and identified him as Israel's fourth-ranked player at the time.[6]

Hadad represented Israel during its 2009 Davis Cup campaign. With Yoni Erlich injured and Noam Okun unable to travel after sustaining an injury, Hadad was called into the squad and partnered Andy Ram against Sweden, losing in four sets to Simon Aspelin and Robert Lindstedt.[4][7] Israel nevertheless won the tie 3–2, reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 1987, and later advanced to the semifinals for the first time in its history.[7] At the 2010 Israel Open in Ramat HaSharon, Hadad and Stefan Koubek defeated Harel Levy and Prakash Amritraj 6–3, 6–2 in doubles to advance to the semifinals.[8] Hadad played his last professional match in 2010.[2]

The defining episode of Hadad's career came at Wimbledon in 2002, when he partnered with Pakistani player Aisam Ul-Haq Qureshi in men's doubles.[1] The pairing came about naturally: Hadad later recalled that Qureshi asked him to play while they were practicing at Wimbledon, and that the partnership made practical sense because the two competed and practiced at many of the same tournaments and knew each other well.[9]

The Israeli-Pakistani pair upset the No. 11 seeds Ellis Ferreira and Rick Leach before losing to No. 7 seeds Martin Damm and Cyril Suk in three sets, reaching the third round.[1] Their partnership drew immediate international attention, pairing an Israeli Jew and a Pakistani Muslim during a period of acute regional tension.[1] Hadad said of the collaboration: "I see it as only a positive that two guys from different nationalities can play together."[1]

Fueled by the attention from Wimbledon, Hadad and Qureshi received a wild card to play doubles at the 2002 U.S. Open, as the United States approached the first anniversary of the September 11 attacks.[1][2] They defeated Argentinians Mariano Hood and Sebastian Prieto in the first round before falling in the second round to defending champions Wayne Black and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe.[1] At the same tournament, Hadad also reached the mixed-doubles quarterfinals with Hungary's Petra Mandula and advanced to the final round of the singles qualifying draw.[2] Both players stressed that their partnership was not intended as a political statement; Hadad said they hoped to convey that "it doesn't matter where you are from and what is your religion — we all can get along in sport and in other things."[9] He later reflected that it was only through the scale of media coverage that he and Qureshi came to understand the partnership's significance beyond tennis.[9]

The two continued their collaboration at Wimbledon in 2003, coming through doubles qualifying before losing in the main-draw first round to Jiri Novak and Radek Stepanek.[1] On February 6, 2003, they were named recipients of the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award.[1] ATP chief executive Mark Miles praised their "simple message about tolerance through tennis" during a period when, he said, fear and hatred had dominated headlines.[1]

After his last professional matches in 2010, Hadad remained active in the sport as a coach and teacher in Tel Aviv.[2] As of 2023, he was the father of two children and maintained friendships with former playing contemporaries, including Indian doubles star Rohan Bopanna.[2]

Qureshi went on to receive the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award a second time in 2010 alongside India's Rohan Bopanna, his partner in the "Indo-Pak Express," after they reached the U.S. Open men's doubles final.[9] Coach Ronen Morley, who worked with Hadad and other leading Israeli players in the 1990s, recalled an example of the group's camaraderie: after Hadad and Noam Okun contested a hard-fought match during a trip to India, they left the court embracing and attended a recovery session together.[10]

The Hadad-Qureshi doubles partnership prompted objections from Pakistani sports authorities. Pakistan's Sports Board reportedly threatened to ban Qureshi for partnering with a Jewish Israeli at Wimbledon; the threat was later rescinded, and Qureshi was subsequently invited to join Pakistan's Davis Cup team.[1] Pakistan Tennis Federation senior vice president Khawaja Saeed Hai told Reuters that Qureshi "can be forgiven" for playing with an Israeli at Wimbledon but advised him not to repeat the partnership at the U.S. Open.[9] Qureshi nonetheless partnered with Hadad at the U.S. Open.[9]

In Israel, the partnership received broad support. Israeli tennis federation president David Harnik described sport as a way to bridge the gap between nations.[1] At the U.S. Open, Israelis in the stands cheered for Qureshi while Pakistanis cheered for Hadad.[1] Hadad and Qureshi maintained that their pairing was personal rather than political, rooted in friendship and mutual respect forged on the tour.[1][9]