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Born in Saint Etienne to Iranian immigrant parents, who spoke Farsi to her at home, tennis player Arghavan Rezaei holds both French and Iranian passports. 


“When I was just 11-years-old, I visited the Iranian team’s training camp in France and presented my cups and medals to the Iranian footballers, namely, Ali Daei, Khodadad Azizi and Karim Bagheri. I have always said that I am proud of being Iranian,” Rezaei said. 

Much inspired by Andre Agassi, who like her had Iranian origins, Rezaei’s tennis is based on devastating groundstrokes, both forehand and backhand. She has a quality of ball that had few equals among the great champions of her generation, apart from the Williams sisters and Maria Sharapova. Loving to get on the ball early, Rezaei suffocates her opponents like a steamroller, and likes to finish points with volleys…or sometimes by surprising them with a drop shot.

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