Men's Tennis | 02/27/2017

The Idaho tennis program has a warm family feeling this spring as the teams prepare for another run at the Big Sky and NCAA Tournaments. The two teams are linked together on and off the court by a very unique set of circumstances.

The men's and women's teams are now being coached by a set of brothers from Pakistan. Former Vandals tennis star and second-year men's coach Abid Akbar was joined by his older brother and newly hired Babar Akbar this spring. Babar, six years Abid's elder, takes over a women's squad that has won three conference titles in the last three seasons.

"It has never been like this [having two Pakistani coaches]," Abid explained. "I know everybody who has played in Pakistan the last 30 years and that will play in the next 10. It is a pretty unique situation. I actually learned a lot from my brother about tennis. He is six years older than me so he helped coach me a bit."

The two brothers grew up in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan. The Akbar family runs deep with tennis tradition. Their father, Ali, played tennis at Clemson in the 1970s and captained the Pakistani Davis Cup team. Their uncles also partook in the sport.

"We basically grew up in a tennis house. I watched my brothers play and basically learned from them. It was a big part of our lives," Abid recalled.

The sport of tennis is not a traditional hobby across Pakistan. There is a knowledge of the sport, but its popularity sits behind soccer, cricket, squash and field hockey. Tennis' roots in Pakistan date back to the country's time as a colony of Great Britain. The British established tennis clubs across the country that are still being utilized today by Pakistan's small tennis community.

The Akbar brothers, three in all, all grew up around the sport. Their father stayed involved with the game after his time at Clemson. He worked with the International Olympic Committee as well as some of the professional tournaments around the world. There were always tennis balls or racquets around the Akbar house, unlike many others in Pakistan.

"Back home we are a cricket nation," Babar described. "People did not understand why we were playing tennis. It was difficult because we do not have a lot of resources as a country. There are not a lot of coaches. We were lucky because we had everything at home. Any free time after school we would be outside playing some kind of sport or tennis."

Babar and Abid followed the pro circuit as kids from afar. As one might expect each sibling had different idols they looked up to.

"When I was growing up Pete Sampras was big. Either you were a Sampras or an [Andre] Agassi fan," Babar admitted. "So Sampras was definitely one of them. I have always found people like Stefan Edberg, the Swede, or Gustavo Kuerten or Pat Rafter to be some of the other guys I looked up to."

"Andre Agassi was my all-time favorite until recently when Roger Federer took over," Abid added. "I always tried to copy Agassi. I had posters of him in my room. He was by far my favorite. When he lost his last match to Benjamin Becker at the US Open in 2006, I had tears in my eyes."

Both Babar and Abid turned promising junior careers into an opportunity to play collegiate tennis. Like their father, they both realized that tennis was going to afford them the opportunity to come to the United States. Babar played at Charleston Southern University, graduating in 2007. Abid played at Idaho from 2009-13.

"We were very lucky. Even when our father came from Pakistan to the United States for tennis, nobody had ever thought of that. He was one of the few people that started doing that," Babar added.

Abid was 12 when Babar first went off to college. When Babar graduated Abid was just beginning his collegiate career. After graduating Babar began a path down the corporate lifestyle, briefly stepping away from tennis. Abid began his professional career, playing in tournaments across the world and qualified to play on Pakistan's Davis Cup team.

"I felt I was playing the best tennis I had ever played once I was done with college. That encouraged me to play professionally, along with the support of my father and coach Jeff Beaman. It was always a dream of mine and I was so close to it. I was in Pakistan at the time of the national team tryouts. It was perfect timing for me. I was able to win all the trial matches and make the team. That was the best moment in my tennis life so far," Abid recalled.

It has been a bit of a reunion of sorts for the two, now that they are coaching together at Idaho. Due to the difference in age the two brothers have not spent a ton of time together over the last 10 years or so. Abid has been in Idaho and continues to play on the Davis Cup, while Babar has been coaching along the East Coast as well as places like Dubai and Pakistan.

"We basically have not spent a whole lot of time together in the last 10 years. I was away and then he was away. So this is an interesting experience in that sense," Babar noted. "Now suddenly we are having to work with each other. He is a good kid to work with and we get along very well."

Both brothers spend their days on the floor of the Kibbie Dome, utilizing the indoor courts for practices. The coaches are involved with both teams, helping out each other with little tweaks here and there.

"We live together and have such a close bond that we can help both teams," described Abid. "We like to say that he is my assistant and I am his assistant. We help each other out with everything. It has been ideal. We will talk at home and bounce ideas off each other. It helps us out, but I think it also benefits both teams."

As for any sibling rivalry?

"There has never really been a competitive thing between him and I," Babar joked. "By the time I finished he was taking off. We did play a couple matches at home against each other. He kicked my butt, but you know. I think as an older brother I felt proud, but as a player it kind of sucked."