Omar Behroozian, the UAE’s leading tennis player, has a library dominated by books about famous sports personalities that he turns to for inspiration. “Reading has helped me a lot,” says Behroozian, 34, who played his first Davis Cup match in 1996 and has appeared in 71 ties since. “Being an athlete myself, I try as much as I can to read books about the lives of different athletes, then try to take all the important stuff I read and apply it to myself.”
Inspired by tales of other sportsmen and their challenges and successes, Behroozian has managed to retain his focus and his place as the No 1 tennis player in the country, despite a lack of competition and opportunities to play abroad. He has been a regular feature at the Dubai Tennis Championships alongside legends including Serena Williams and Roger Federer, and putting up spirited fights whenever he had an opportunity in the main draw.
“Reading is important to me as it always broadens your knowledge,” he says. “It is a way of learning a lot of new stuff, especially for me as an athlete. It is a way of getting to know a lot of things that could help me. Reading also makes you see things from different perspectives. So it’s very important – and my advice to today’s kids would be to make sure they cultivate this habit of reading, in this day and age where it seems reading books isn’t that important. It has definitely helped me a lot, either to gain knowledge or even to relax during tournaments.”
Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis by Brad Gilbert
This book is a must-read for tennis players. It is one of the tennis classics.
My Life: Queen of the Court by Serena Williams
There are few stories more inspirational than that of the Williams sisters, not just in sports but beyond.
Theo: Growing Up Fast by Theo Walcott
This is an amazing story, in Walcott’s own words, about his meteoric rise as a footballer.
Sol Campbell: The Authorised Biography by Simon Astaire
Again, an incredible story, about his rise from the streets of East London to one of the finest defenders ever to wear an England football jersey.
My Defence by Ashley Cole
I am an Arsenal fan and was curious to know Cole’s side of the story about the tapping scandal.
