Hady Habib flies flag for Lebanon at Australian Open

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...”

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!

Hadys Habib wins the first 7-6(4) - and does so in some style!@wwos • @espn • @eurosport • @wowowtennis • #AusOpen • #AO2025 pic.twitter.com/PoFcX2HoJ8

— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 12, 2025

Returning to the United States, Habib spent time in California before heading east to the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. Later, he played at Texas A&M under two-time Australian Open finalist Steve Denton.

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.”

Habib also hopes that his breakout victory 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.