Mansour Bahrami, one of tennis’ most charismatic and popular players known worldwide for his amazing trick shots, is profiled in a new book, Mansour Bahrami – Face to Face – Candid Discussions led by Hamid Gharavi, which includes a preface by Bjorn Borg and foreward by John McEnroe.
McEnroe refers to Bahrami as a “genius” and Borg, in his autobiography Heartbeats agrees noting that “he can do anything he wants with the ball. I’d probably call him a ball genius, maybe even the best there’s ever been.”
Photo credit: Bo Mertz, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Bahrami’s journey is infused with gratitude, appreciation and a desire to make everyone he encountered laugh and smile. Often thought of as the Harlem Globetrotter of tennis, his imprint on the game is indelible.
The book gives an astounding account of Bahrami growing up in Tehran under extreme tyranny to overcome incredible odds. He learned tennis in an empty swimming pool with a dustpan and a ball. Later, he lived on the streets often sleeping near Roland Garros. These challenges formed an amazing resilience that fueled his artistic drive, skill, showmanship, and deep appreciation for life.
Photo credit: Editions Amphora
Playing seven matches (including pre-qualifiers) in just four days to obtain his papers to stay in France is yet another example of Bahrami’s drive, desire, and tenacity.
Mansour’s path reminds me of the Aikido master George Leonard, who said in Mastery: The Keys to Success and Long-Term Fulfillment: “Perhaps we’ll never know how far the path can go, how much a human being can truly achieve, until we realize that the ultimate reward is not a gold medal but the path itself.”
Source: Wimbledon / YouTube
Bahrami is currently Director of the Trophée des Légendes and Ambassador of the French Tennis Federation. He notably reached the doubles final at Roland Garros in 1989 and is still renowned for his extraordinary trick shots and engaging court presence at exhibitions worldwide.
Published by Editions Amphora, the book is co-authored by Bahrami’s Franco-Iranian friend Hamid Gharavi, the founder of Derains & Gharavi — one of the leaders in international conflict resolution, including in sports and tennis.
The book is available on Amazon.com.
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Written by Thomas Katovsky. A former varsity tennis coach at Kent State and John Carroll University, Katovsky also served as a volunteer coach at the Israel Tennis Centers in Tel Aviv (working alongside Davis Cup coach Ron Steele). Katovsky is also co-founder of Healthy Referral. Editor’s note: the original article has been lightly edited for length. Photo credit (top): big-ashb via Flickr.