Saudi tennis sensation Yara Al-Haqbani entered the quarter finals of the Nairobi International Tennis Championship after beating her Israeli rival Reni Nikishov in two straight sets. Al-Haqbani proved her brilliance in the international arena with her win against Kenya’s Alicia Oigi in the first round. She went on to defeat Romanian Maya Visan in the second round with a score of two sets to none (6-1, 6-2) before sweeping Nikishov 6-0, 6-2 to continue her winning streak in the tournament. She will face British player Jady Cole in the quarter finals. Al-Haqbani is ranked 767th in the world according to the professional tennis players ranking, despite her young age. Born in 2004, she became a professional player at an early age and represented Saudi Arabia in various world championships. Yara recently played in the Dubai International Championships, where she was eliminated in the second round by Russian Kira Matyoshikina. The Saudi player also reached the finals of the Fujairah Tennis Championship, where she put up a tough fight before losing to Bulgarian Eva Bosed 3-6, 6-7. She returned to shine at the Nairobi Championship with her biggest accomplishment so far in 2022. Al-Haqbani played 16 matches in the J3, J4, J5 tennis tournaments for female players during 2021, winning eight of the matches with a success rate of 50 percent. So far, she participated in 7 matches in 2022, winning 4 and losing 3 during the j4 and j5 competitions. Al-Haqbani is the youngest professional tennis player in the Kingdom, scoring many important victories internationally, the last of which is in the Nairobi International Championship. In addition, she represented Saudi Arabia in the “Junior” and “Future” WTA and Islamic Solidarity Championships. — SG