While the consequences of the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty are still tenuous in a number of areas, the relationship between the two countries in the field of tennis has become more apparent as the months pass. The latest sign of good will, on the tennis courts, at least, was indicated recently.
Towards the end of the 1981 indoor tennis season Ricky Meyer of Long Island, New York, teamed up with El Shafei, Egypt’s best player, in doubles at the $75,000 Sofia Grand Prix court festival in Bulgaria and they reached the doubles final before they were knocked out.
This tournament marked the first time that Meyer won an accredited Tennis Association tourney and he pulled down $12,000. In addition, he picked up a handsome fee for going to the final round with the Egyptian in the doubles competition.
Meyer reports that Shafei and the other Egyptian tennis performers are more than happy to meet with and play the Israeli stars. Right now Shlomo Glickstein is Israel’s top rated player and has worked his way in to the top 50 court performers in the world’s rankings so that sooner or later he will be playing with and against Egyptian tennis stars.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
