# Selima Sfar

Selima Sfar (Arabic: سليمة صفر Salima Safar; born 8 July 1977) is a Tunisian former tennis player.
She turned professional in 1999 and has been ranked as high as 75th in the world (16 July 2001). Sfar is the second highest ranked female Tunisian and Arab player. She has experienced most of her success in tournaments of the ITF Women's Circuit, winning 11 singles titles and 21 doubles titles.

## Biography

Sfar started playing tennis at age 8 at the Tennis Club of Carthage. She left Tunis at age 12 to live and train with Nathalie Tauziat under coach Régis de Camaret in Biarritz, France. The serve-and-volleyer preferred indoor hardcourts; favorite shots were serve, backhand. Father, Moncef, is a physician; mother, Zeineb, is a dermatologist; older sister is Sonia and younger brother is Hassan. She is a granddaughter of Habib Cheikhrouhou who founded the press group Dar Assabah in 1951.

## Tennis career

As a junior, Sfar won the Arab Junior Singles in 1992 and reached the quarter-finals of the junior tournament at French Open. In 1994, she was African junior champion. She turned professional in 1999. In 2000, she qualified for the US Open, to become the first Tunisian to achieve this feat. In the meantime, she was able to receive wildcards for Middle Eastern tournaments in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. At the Dubai Tennis Championships in 2001, she reached the quarterfinals, beating Silvija Talaja and Barbara Schett before being defeated by Nathalie Tauziat, in three sets. In that year, she became the first Arab woman to break into the top 100 of the WTA rankings.
Sfar played for the Tunisia Fed Cup team, going 41–24. She also competed in the 1996 Summer Olympics, losing in the first round to Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, and the 2008 Summer Olympics, losing in the first round to Caroline Wozniacki. Sfar holds the records for the Tunesian in the Fed Cup with the most wins, the most singles wins, the most doubles wins, the most ties played, and the most years played.
At the 2005 African Cup of Nations in Tunis, Sfar won the gold medal at both the singles and mixed teams' competitions.
At the 2008 Wimbledon Championships, Sfar and her partner Ekaterina Makarova reached the quarterfinals of the ladies' doubles, before they were defeated by Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur.
In 2011, Sfar announced her retirement from professional tennis. In the meantime, she became a commentator for Qatari sports channel, beIN Sports.
At the 2015 Wimbledon Championships, Sfar teamed with Martina Navratilova for the Invitational Ladies Doubles, and they won all three of their matches in their group.

## Post-retirement

On 28 August 2023, Sfar had an interview with L'Équipe in which she accused her coach, Régis de Camaret, of rape and sexual abuse, when she was 12 and a half years old. The same coach was accused by Isabelle Demongeot of similar misconduct and later jailed for 8 years in 2012.

## ITF finals

* $100,000 tournaments
* $75,000 tournaments
* $50,000 tournaments
* $25,000 tournaments
* $10,000 tournaments

### Singles: 19 (11–8)

| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 1. | 14 August 1994 | ITF Carthage, Tunisia | Clay | Anne-Gaëlle Sidot | 5–7, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 2. | 26 March 1995 | ITF Moulins, France | Hard (i) | Linda Sentis | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 3. | 26 November 1995 | ITF Le Havre, France | Clay (i) | Émilie Loit | 0–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 4. | 4 February 1996 | ITF Dinan, France | Clay (i) | Virginie Massart | 6–4, 7–6$^{(8)}$ |
| Win | 5. | 11 August 1996 | ITF Carthage, Tunisia | Clay | Marielle Bruens | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Win | 6. | 14 December 1997 | ITF Ismailia, Egypt | Clay | Tzipora Obziler | 5–7, 7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1. | 22 June 1998 | ITF Sezze, Italy | Clay | Alice Canepa | 5–7, 2–6 |
| Win | 7. | 30 April 2000 | ITF Bournemouth, United Kingdom | Clay | Dragana Zarić | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2. | 17 July 2000 | ITF Le Touquet, France | Clay | Bianka Lamade | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 3. | 31 July 2000 | Open Saint-Gaudens, France | Clay | Elena Tatarkova | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 8. | 22 September 2002 | GB Pro-Series Glasgow, UK | Hard (i) | Anne Keothavong | 7–6$^{(5)}$, 2–6, 7–6$^{(8)}$ |
| Win | 9. | 3 November 2002 | ITF Nottingham, United Kingdom | Hard (i) | Lilia Osterloh | 6–2, 6–2 |
| Loss | 4. | 26 July 2004 | ITF Modena, Italy | Clay | Anna-Lena Grönefeld | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 5. | 1 November 2004 | ITF Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium | Hard (i) | Yvonne Meusburger | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 10. | 14 May 2006 | ITF Jounieh, Lebanon | Clay | Anastasiya Yakimova | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 6. | 10 April 2007 | Open de Biarritz, France | Clay | Pauline Parmentier | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 11. | 13 May 2007 | ITF Jounieh, Lebanon | Clay | Mariya Koryttseva | 6–2, 4–6, 7–6$^{(3)}$ |
| Loss | 7. | 7 April 2008 | Open de Biarritz, France | Clay | Kathrin Wörle | 1–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 8. | 5 July 2009 | ITF Mont-de-Marsan, France | Clay | Anna Gerasimou | 5–7, 3–6 |

### Doubles: 33 (21–12)

| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1. | 25 July 1994 | ITF La Coruña, Spain | Clay | Olivia de Camaret | Sandra de Rafael Paula Hermida | 4–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 2. | 1 August 1994 | ITF Casablanca, Morocco | Clay | Olivia de Camaret | Cora Hofmann Alexandra Seitarth | 4–6, 6–1, 6–0 |
| Loss | 1. | 5 August 1996 | ITF Carthage, Tunisia | Clay | Sandrine Bouilleau | Mariëlle Bruens Bahia Mouhtassine | w/o |
| Win | 3. | 21 April 1997 | ITF Guimarães, Portugal | Hard | Élodie Le Bescond | Kildine Chevalier Jindra Gabrisová | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Win | 4. | 8 December 1997 | ITF Ismailia, Egypt | Clay | Bérangère Karpenschif | Bianca Kamper Nicole Remis | 6–3, 7–6$^{(5)}$ |
| Loss | 2. | 11 May 1998 | ITF Le Touquet, France | Clay | Élodie Le Bescond | Vanina Casanova Romina Ottoboni | 6–7, 0–1 ret. |
| Win | 5. | 22 June 1998 | ITF Sezze, Italy | Clay | Vanina Casanova | Alice Canepa Alessia Lombardi | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 6. | 20 July 1998 | ITF Valladolid, Spain | Hard | Gisela Riera | Eva Bes Rosa María Andrés Rodríguez | 7–6$^{(5)}$, 7–6$^{(3)}$ |
| Loss | 3. | 27 July 1998 | ITF Pamplona, Spain | Hard | Meike Fröhlich | Eva Bes Amanda Hopmans | w/o |
| Win | 7. | 10 May 1999 | ITF Edinburgh, United Kingdom | Clay | Jo Ward | Surina De Beer Lorna Woodroffe | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 4. | 26 July 1999 | ITF Pamplona, Spain | Hard | Jo Ward | Hiroko Mochizuki Ludmila Richterová | 6–2, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 8. | 2 August 1999 | ITF Perigueux, France | Clay | Jo Ward | Hanna-Katri Aalto Rika Fujiwara | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 5. | 6 February 2000 | ITF Jersey, United Kingdom | Hard (i) | Jo Ward | Elena Bovina Anna Zaporozhanova | 3–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 9. | 24 April 2000 | ITF Bournemouth, United Kingdom | Clay | Lorna Woodroffe | Hannah Collin Zsófia Gubacsi | 6–1, 6–0 |
| Win | 10. | 1 May 2000 | ITF Hatfield, United Kingdom | Clay | Jo Ward | Zsófia Gubacsi Jasmin Wöhr | 7–6$^{(6)}$, 6–2 |
| Loss | 6. | 15 May 2000 | ITF Edinburgh, United Kingdom | Clay | Lorna Woodroffe | Natalie Grandin Nicole Rencken | 6–0, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 7. | 3 November 2002 | ITF Nottingham, United Kingdom | Hard (i) | Lucie Ahl | Kim Grant Lilia Osterloh | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 11. | 20 April 2003 | Open de Biarritz, France | Clay | Lucie Ahl | Yuliya Beygelzimer Anna Zaporozhanova | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Loss | 8. | 18 August 2003 | Bronx Open, United States | Hard | Mara Santangelo | Yuliya Beygelzimer Tatiana Poutchek | 4–6, 5–7 |
| Win | 12. | 13 September 2004 | ITF Bordeaux, France | Clay | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Erica Krauth Jasmin Wöhr | 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| Loss | 9. | 10 October 2004 | Open de Touraine, France | Clay | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Květa Peschke Angelika Rösch | w/o |
| Win | 13. | 18 October 2004 | ITF Saint-Raphaël, France | Hard (i) | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Barbora Strýcová Galina Voskoboeva | 7–6$^{(3)}$, 2–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 14. | 1 November 2004 | ITF Sint-Katelijne-Waver, Belgium | Hard (i) | Virginie Pichet | Eva Fislová Stanislava Hrozenská | 6–1, 7–6$^{(2)}$ |
| Win | 15. | 23 November 2004 | ITF Poitiers, France | Hard (i) | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Gabriela Chmelinová Michaela Paštiková | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Win | 16. | 12 April 2005 | Open de Biarritz, France | Clay | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Timea Bacsinszky Aurélie Védy | 6–2, 6–1 |
| Win | 17. | 15 November 2005 | ITF Deauville, France | Clay (i) | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Alona Bondarenko Kateryna Bondarenko | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Loss | 10. | 26 March 2007 | ITF Latina, Italy | Hard | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Sara Errani Giulia Gabba | 3–6, 6–1, 6–7$^{(2)}$ |
| Loss | 11. | 6 April 2008 | ITF Torhout, Belgium | Hard | Stéphanie Cohen-Alor | Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Yanina Wickmayer | 4–6, 6–4, [8–10] |
| Win | 18. | 20 July 2009 | ITF Pétange, Luxembourg | Clay | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Darija Jurak Kathrin Wörle | 6–2, 3–6, [10–7] |
| Win | 19. | 12 October 2009 | Open de Touraine, France | Hard | Youlia Fedossova | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro Aurélie Védy | 4–6, 6–0, [10–8] |
| Win | 20. | 22 February 2010 | Biberach Open, Germany | Hard (i) | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Mona Barthel Carmen Klaschka | 5–7, 6–1, [10–5] |
| Loss | 12. | 17 October 2010 | Open de Touraine, France | Hard (i) | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Tatjana Malek Irena Pavlovic | 4–6, 7–5, [8–10] |
| Win | 21. | 24 January 2011 | Open de l'Isère, France | Hard (i) | Stéphanie Cohen-Aloro | Iryna Brémond Aurélie Védy | 6–1, 6–3 |