As we bid adieu to 2025 and prepare to welcome another enthralling year of sports, here are some exciting and talented sportswomen from the Arab world to keep an eye on.
Ghizlane Chebbak (Morocco) – Football
2025 was a banner year for Moroccan footballer Ghizlane Chebbak, who made history in more ways than one.
During the summer, she won her second consecutive Golden Boot at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, becoming only the second woman to achieve that feat in competition history.
The Moroccan captain’s five goals helped her country reach the Wafcon final, where they came up just short against Nigeria to settle for the runners-up spot.
This season, Chebbak, whose father, Larbi Chebbak, won the men's Afcon with Morocco in 1976, joined Saudi Women's Premier League club Al Hilal, who are currently in second place behind table-toppers Al Nassr.
In November, the 35-year-old Chebbak was named CAF Women’s Player of the Year, the first Moroccan in history to win the award.
It will be interesting to see how the Moroccan veteran fares in the Saudi league and whether she can help Morocco go one better than their two previous runners-up finishes in the Wafcon when they host the tournament in March 2026.
Manon Ouaiss (Lebanon) – Alpine skiing
Preparing to compete in her second Winter Olympics this February, Lebanese skier Manon Ouaiss will be one to watch at Milano-Cortina 2026.
Unlike her previous Olympic appearance in Beijing four years ago, where she competed while working in a business law firm and studying law at a university in Paris, Ouaiss has been able to fully dedicate herself to training this past year, basing herself in Brides-les-Bains in the French Alps to prepare for the Games.
The 25-year-old is a multi-sport athlete and claimed a bronze medal at the World 2024 Muay Thai Championships.
She has high ambitions, including a dream to compete in the LA 2028 Olympics in boxing.
But first and foremost, she hopes to help give a boost to the competitive skiing environment back home.
“I really try to contribute to a better level in Lebanon,” she told The National in an interview.
“And I really want us to be more ambitious because we kind of have this culture in Lebanon of, it's great to participate and to raise the Lebanese flag on the world stage, etc. But I feel like we could be more competitive, aim for medals, and so on.”
Ons Jabeur (Tunisia) – Tennis
Currently on maternity leave and expecting a baby boy with husband Karim Kamoun in April, Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur is already thinking about her comeback and recently said she hopes to return to the WTA Tour before the 2026 season ends.
Jabeur has long spoken of her desire to take a break to expand her family and join the growing group of travelling mothers on the tennis circuit.
The former world No 2 wishes to provide further inspiration for women across the region and beyond through her journey back to the tennis court.
We can’t wait to witness this next chapter in the story of Tunisia’s Minister of Happiness.
Hattan Al Saif (Saudi Arabia) – MMA
The highly anticipated professional debut of Hattan Al Saif at the PFL MENA Finals: All or Nothing never materialised as the Saudi fighter was forced to withdraw ahead of her bout against Egypt’s Haidy Ahmed due to injury.
But the 23-year-old took to social media to assure her fans she plans on coming back stronger, and we can expect to see her back in the cage in 2026.
Hattan is a 2023 IFMA Muay Thai gold medallist, a World Combat Games gold medallist, and the first Saudi woman to sign with a major global MMA promotion. Her record as an MMA amateur under PFL MENA is 4-0.
Hattan was orphaned at the age of 10, losing both her parents in the span of 10 months. She battled severe depression during her teenage years before finding solace in Muay Thai boxing and mixed martial arts.
“I didn’t have a normal childhood or an easy childhood because of the loss of my parents,” she told CNN in an interview last year. “But after God, martial arts helped me a lot – so, so, so much. It changed my life 100 per cent for the better.”
Hania El Hammamy (Egypt) – Squash
After years of being a key member of squash’s ‘Big Three’ alongside her fellow Egyptians Nouran Gohar and Nour El Sherbini, Hania El Hammamy finally took over the world No 1 spot for the first time in her career last November, and gets to end 2025 at the summit of the rankings.
The 25-year-old has captured three titles so far this campaign (the squash season runs from September to May) at the Egyptian Open, Qatar Classic and US Open, and will have one less rival to worry about during the coming months with Gohar recently announcing she is expecting her first child and will be spending some time away from the tour.
World No 4 El Sherbiny and third-ranked star teenager Amina Orfi will be gunning for El Hammamy. It will be interesting to see how long she can hold on to the top spot.
Yasmine Kabbaj (Morocco) – Tennis
Last summer, Yasmine Kabbaj became the first Moroccan in 21 years to win a W35-level title on the ITF circuit. She secured the trophy on home soil at Mohammedia to become the joint-highest Moroccan title winner in women's tennis history.
The 21-year-old, who played college tennis at San Diego State University and Florida International University, cracked the top 400 in the world rankings for the first time in November and has shown signs of continued progress since turning pro.
Can she now make a push for the top 200 and make the cut for Grand Slam qualifying? 2026 will be a crucial season for her.
Bassant Hemida (Egypt) – Athletics
Bassant Hemida’s return to competition in 2025 saw the Egyptian runner steer away from her signature 100m and 200m events and instead tackle the 400m, at the behest of her doctors and coaches.
The 29-year-old had struggled with injuries over the previous two seasons and was advised to shift her focus away from pure sprints to extend her career.
In her first year competing in the one-lap discipline, Hemida carved a place for herself among the world’s best by reaching the semi-finals at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo last September.
She clocked a new national record of 50.36 seconds in the 400m heats in the Japanese capital to advance to the next round and went under 51 seconds again in the semi-finals to position herself as one of the top 16 one-lap runners in the world.
With the World Athletics Indoor Championship coming up in March and a full season of competitions to look forward to, Hemida is currently in full training mode as she targets further success on the track.
Dania Akeel (Saudi Arabia) – Rally driving
Just under a year ago, Dania Akeel became only the fourth woman in history, and the first from Saudi Arabia, to win a stage at the Dakar Rally.
While her overall Dakar experience wasn’t what she had hoped – she finished 27th overall – Akeel rebounded by winning the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge.
It was a historic win for the 37-year-old in the Challenger class, as she became the first female driver to triumph in the World Rally Raid Championship since 2022.
She finished the 2025 championship in third place in the T3 Challenger class, and secured a second consecutive Middle East Baja Cup title.
In January, Akeel will participate in her fifth Dakar Rally as part of the BBR team, driving a very competitive Taurus, and she hopes to make the podium on home soil.
“Honestly, I love this race. There is nothing that compares to this event,” Akeel recently told SBS Sport.
“I've done a lot of driving this year, starting with the Dakar in 2025. I'm very much looking forward to the 2026 edition. The stage I won last year was in the Empty Quarter and this year we don't pass through the Empty Quarter, so it's going to be an entirely new experience for me. The advantage I have sometimes in the dunes is that I carry a good rhythm and that sort of terrain with the Challenger class. We'll have to use different advantages in the 2026 edition, so let's see how that goes.”
Aysha Al Jneibi (UAE) – Jiu-jitsu
Gold at the World Youth Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Bangkok and silver at the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain were just two of the many highlights from Aysha Al Jneibi’s 2025 campaign.
The Emirati teenager is one of the nation’s brightest young prospects in jiu-jitsu and was named Best U18 UAE Athlete at the Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Awards last month.
She finished her year on a high note by earning the purple belt and is vying for further success in 2026.
Farida Khalil (Egypt) – Modern pentathlon
At just 14 years old, Farida Khalil has already conquered the world of modern pentathlon.
The Egyptian teen phenom scooped up four world titles in 2025, taking gold in the under-17, under-19, under-22, and senior World Championships – a unique feat dubbed the ‘Farida Slam’.
The sport of modern pentathlon is revolutionising itself for new generations, and has this year replaced the equestrian component of the competition with an obstacle race.
As it undergoes this revamp, Khalil has emerged as a worthy new face of the sport, with one eye firmly fixed on the LA 2028 Olympics.
“I think it’s really exciting. It brings a fresh energy and makes pentathlon even more dynamic for spectators,” Khalil told Olympics.com.
“I feel I’m doing really well with it, and I love the idea that our sport is evolving and becoming more appealing to young athletes like me.”
The soon-to-be 15-year-old has a big season ahead of her as she hopes to hold onto her title as the undisputed queen of modern pentathlon.
