The death of teenager Zainab shocks the tennis community

KARACHI:

The shocking, untimely death of teenage tennis star Zainab Ali Naqvi has left sports circles across the country in mourning and deprived Pakistan of a talented athlete.

The 17-year-old rising star from Karachi, ranked among the top eight young players, died in Islamabad on the evening of February 12 due to cardiac arrest. He participated in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Juniors Khawar Hayat tournament in the capital.
With hard work and discipline, Zainab had become Sindh’s number two player and was among the top eight junior girls in the country.
Ali Imam, her father, told everything about her in the present tense as a parent does, the pain in his voice hours after Zeinab’s body was brought to Karachi from Islamabad.
The entire tennis community, including newly elected Pakistan Tennis President Aisamul Haq Qureshi, former President Salim Saifullah and the Karachi Tennis Association have been left shocked and devastated, but nothing compares to the grief of Zainab’s father, mother and brother , who is four years younger. from her.
In a difficult phone call, Imam shared Zainab’s memories when asked about who her favorites were and how she got into tennis.
“Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer are her favorite tennis players,” Imam told The Express Tribune. “Among women, she likes… Aryna Sabalenka, most recently. But she also liked Maria Sharapova.”
Imam said that Zeinab started playing tennis at the age of six and later started competing in the local tournaments.
“He started playing because I was playing tennis and he followed me.”
The right-hander’s preferred surface was hard court, according to her ITF profile.
Imam spoke fondly of Zainab’s love for Western classical music as well and revealed that she was a trained pianist.
“She did her O Levels from Cedar College and her primary education is from Foundation Public School, but apart from tennis, she is also a musician. She has trained to be a pianist for eight years, western classical is her forte,” Imam said.
Ludovica Einaudi and Beethoven were among her favorites as well as a pianist.
“Zainab was born on April 30, 2006,” Imam said, she would have turned 18 next month.
“Zainab was always smiling, always kind to everyone, she was very friendly and everyone who met her was delighted by her spirit, apart from being an excellent player,” recalled the Karachi Tennis Association president and PTF Vice President. “Zainab was impressive in her game. she was so good that the Pakistan Air Force signed a contract with her last year just before the National Games in Quetta.
“There are so many tournaments she has won, it has been great to see her rise to become Sindh’s number two player and she was among the top eight juniors in the country.”
Rehmani added that he saw her in Islamabad a few days ago and his last interaction with her was pleasant as ever. “I was in Islamabad and she came to greet me, we were all shocked to learn of her death.”
She added that Zainab’s parents were incredibly supportive and made sure she traveled regularly to tournaments, encouraging her to excel in her craft.
Rehmani said that on Tuesday, the Sindh and Karachi association paid tribute to her at the Union Club.
He explained that Zainab died suddenly at her grandmother’s house in Islamabad, “She had come back after playing and went to take a shower directly, after some time when the family noticed that she had not come out, they started knocking on the door and she knocked it down only to to find her unconscious. He was rushed to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
“This is the second youth we have lost suddenly like this, earlier Pakistan’s former Davis Cup player and Punjab tennis official Rashid Malik’s son Shehryar also died suddenly like this a few years ago.”
But Rehmani said the youngsters have made their mark in Pakistan tennis.
“The PTF has decided to rename the second ITF Junior tournament which is set to start next week. The tournament will be named after Zeinab, it is a way to keep her memory alive,” Rehmani said.
Her funeral is scheduled for Wednesday, Rehmani said.

PTF names the court after Zainab

Just two hours later Aisam announced late at night that the next tournament, and named the tennis court where she was scheduled to play on Tuesday, after her.
“Today was an extremely difficult day for Pakistan tennis as one of our youngest players Zainab Ali Naqvi passed away last night due to cardiac arrest. She was scheduled to play her first match at the ITF J30. To honor her, I, as the President of Pakistan Tennis Federation, decided to name a court after her where she was supposed to play her match today.
“I have also decided to honor our tennis players Ejaz Mushtaq, Kashif Sikandar and Shehzad Sikandar who died tragically in Wah Cantt in 1996 by naming a court after them. This section will be approved by the Council members at the first PTF Annual General Meeting of my term.
These bright young stars of Pakistani tennis are gone but they will be remembered and missed forever.
Moving forward, one of our priorities is to ensure that players receive the respect and honor they deserve.
As a first step, we have decided that the ITF j30 in Islamabad next week will be called the Zainab Ali Naqvi Memorial ITF J30.
Asking everyone to pray for Zeinab and her family.”
A ritual ‘dua’ was also offered for Zainab by the PTF along with a minute’s silence in the presence of foreign and local players, officials, coaches and staff.
Earlier, the PTF had postponed the matches from Tuesday to Wednesday. The ITF Juniors tournament features 45 boys and girls from countries including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, USA, Hong Kong, China, Russia, South Korea, Romania, Switzerland, Sri Lanka and Thailand , except for Pakistan who have 27 players.