Did you know that you can be the world’s top ranked tennis player without playing
a tournament? Or the fact that no team has won the Champions League without a Croatian player in its line-up for the past 10 years. It’s kind of mind blowing, but those are exactly the kind of facts that I love.
I am a die-hard sports fan, and I don’t use that term lightly. My love of sport developed naturally as a kid when I was always active, but it was tennis that spoke to me the most. I love the fact that it is a perfect combination of technique and athleticism, but, mostly, I love the competitiveness of it. So much so that I became a five-time Lebanese tennis champion.
But it wasn’t just the competition (and winning) that spoke to me, it was the entire culture around sport as a whole. It’s the little stories that you hear that aren’t reported by the news, those are what make the whole ecosystem so fascinating to me, and made me want to cover the sports beat as a journalist. Sharing those stories is the reason why I am proud to be writing this new monthly column for Esquire Middle East, and launching my own podcast Did you know? With Sandrine. What kind of sporting stories, you ask? Well, here are some interesting tidbits that may not know, and can probably go and impress your friends with this month.
At the time of writing, the NBA season is coming to its dramatic conclusion. Now whether the Denver Nuggets win its first ever championship, or Miami completes an unlikely underdog story, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Steph Curry. Sure, the shooting prowess of the multiple-time MVP is never short of bewildering (the man once made 100 three-pointers in under five minutes), but I recently discovered that Curry is also somewhat of a popcorn aficionado, and he meticulously evaluates all of the offerings from the various arenas that he plays in. According to Curry, Dallas’ is the popcorn MVP, while the LA Lakers’ popcorn selection ranks last.
“Djokovic became world number one without stepping foot on a court“
– Sandrine Jabra
In case you were dubious about my opening facts, you’ll be stunned to know that Novak Djokovic returned to the top of the men’s tennis world ranking last month without even setting foot on court. What many people don’t realise is that when it comes to world ranking points, a lot of weight is placed on defending points that were earned during the same specific period the season before. In this case the young Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz was unable to defend his title at this year’s Miami Open, resulting in a loss of ranking points. Due to Alcaraz dropping a chunk of points, Djokovic (who is currently banned from competing in Miami) overtook him at the pinnacle of the rankings without even needing to get off his couch.
And finally, despite the undeniable era of success that Pep Guardiola has ushered in at Manchester City, his undoing in the Champions League final might all come down to a matter of passports. The final against Inter Milan is yet to be played at the time of writing this, but for the past 10 years, every single winning team has had a Croatian player in their team. For all his tactical nuance, Pep is short a Croatian in his squad. Inter, on the other hand, have two.
Now, go and impress your friends.
Sandrine Jabra is a former pro tennis player, sports journalist, reporter at kooora.com, and a podcaster. Follow her @sandrinejabra