
You can take the boy out of Lebanon, but you can’t take Lebanon out of the boy.
Houston-born Hady Habib, who honed his game in Florida and played five years at Texas A&M, is in no way conflicted about where his allegiances lie. He is a proud son of Lebanon and hopes that his history-making first-round win at the Australian Open Sunday will inspire young boys and girls in his homeland to take up the sport.
After last week becoming the first Lebanese player to qualify for a Grand Slam singles main draw, Habib defeated Buyunchaokete 7-6(4), 6-4, 7-6(6) Sunday in front of raucous, flag-waving Lebanese fans to become the first player from his country to win a main-draw singles match at a major.
“It was a historic win,” Habib said. “This is the biggest achievement I've had in my entire career.
“… It's such an incredible feeling to get this win not only for myself but for Lebanon and Lebanese tennis. The crowd was absolutely wild. It made it even more special to win in front of them.
“With what we've been going through as a country, I think to bring something positive, especially as we've been having a rough time with obviously the war...”
Steve Denton, the two-time Australian Open finalist and Habib’s coach at Texas A&M, said that his Australian Open success is a reward for his resilience. “He was the No. 1 college player for a time but then had a back injury towards the end of his career and didn’t get to play as much down the stretch in his senior year. He’s been quite the journeyman," said Denton, the former World No. 12.
“He’s taken the blue-collar route and getting his first Grand Slam match win is a story of someone that refuses to give up. It’s been a tough road for him and I’m very proud of what he’s done. He kept working on his game and kept believing in himself when it’s not easy out there. His resilience and being able to dust himself off and get out there and play and to keep a positive attitude is why he is where he is right now.”
Habib was born in Texas but at age six he moved to Lebanon, where his parents continue to live. The family wasn’t involved in tennis, but he picked up the sport at a small club at nine and fell in love.
“I just kept playing. I got good really fast,” Habib said.
“My dad always wanted me to be a tennis player, for some reason. He never actually played the sport. As a young kid, I was put in different sports. I played basketball. I did swimming. I did a bunch of different sports. I just stuck with tennis for some reason.
“Then I just wanted to, at a very young age, be a professional tennis player. That's when I actually moved to the States at the age of 11 to further continue my tennis journey.”
The first Lebanese to make a Grand Slam main draw becomes the first Lebanese to win a Grand Slam set!
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2025
Hadys Habib wins the first 7-6(4) - and does so in some style!@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/PoFcX2HoJ8
Returning to the United States, Habib spent time in California before heading east to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida and then ultimately landing at Texas A&M, where in nearby Houston his parents lived and his aunt owned a flower shop.
But from a young age there was no question that he wanted to play under the Lebanese flag. Habib began representing Lebanon in Davis Cup at 15 and last year competed at the Olympics, where he played Carlos Alcaraz.
“I grew up and just the values that they have there and the people... I just wanted to represent the country that I've lived in and been a part of the tennis culture and everyone back home," Habib said.
“It's a decision I made at a young age. It gives me the motivation to keep going. To play for a small country is something special for me.”
Denton believes that Habib's resilience forged during his challenging journey has become a significant asset as he looks to become a regular tour-level player.
“When I played the game I thought you needed to have two weapons to be successful. He’s got a really good serve and forehand. Today you likely need to have three weapons and for Hady his stubbornness, work ethic and refusal to take no for an answer combine to be that third weapon.
"In his second-round qualifying match against [Clement] Chidekh he was probably 0 for 20 on break point chances. Not many players would have stayed in there fighting after that. But he just refused to relent and ended up 5/26. That's indicative of his career. When adversity knocks him down, he keeps getting back up. It's been a difficult path and I couldn't be more proud of him."
Habib hopes that his journey, resilience and his breakout victory in the Australian Open main draw will help build momentum for tennis in Lebanon.
“I wouldn't say [tennis in Lebanon] is at its best right now. Hopefully things will change,” he said. “I hope that my win today or yesterday would make that change. We have a new president, Alain Sayegh, who is looking to make some changes to the federation and try to have a better development for the younger generation.
“There's things to be worked on. Yeah, there's a lot of room for improvement in Lebanese tennis.”
Habib, who jumped more than 50 places to No. 163 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings by reaching the second round in Melbourne, will next play Australian Open No. 14 seed Ugo Humbert of France.
Editor's note: Habib is one of six former Texas A&M players competing at this year's Australian Open. He joins Patrick Kypson (whom Habib defeated in qualifying), Arthur Rinderknech, Austin Krajicek, Jackson Withrow and Valentin Vacherot.