Rahim Esmail, a former standout for the University of Kentucky, joined the Alabama coaching staff in August 2008. He brings both collegiate and professional tennis experience to the Crimson Tide program.
Prior to his appointment at Alabama, Esmail spent one year as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Eastern Kentucky University while completing his coursework for a Master’s Degree in sports administration. His responsibilities included on-court coaching, recruiting and various administrative tasks.
Esmail spent two years on the ATP Tour where he reached the finals of three professional tournaments, once in singles and twice in doubles. He posted wins over top ATP Tour players such as Tommy Robredo, Feliciano Lopez and John Isner.
As a player at the University of Kentucky from 2001-04, Esmail was a fixture at No. 4 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Wildcats. In 2002, he went 31-4 in singles and 23-2 in doubles to help Kentucky climb to No. 4 in the national rankings, serving as a team captain for the Wildcats in his junior and senior seasons. He was ranked as high as No. 54 nationally in singles at Kentucky and attained a doubles rank as high as No. 8.
As a junior, Esmail was a six-time Canadian National singles finalist, a three-time junior Davis Cup team member, and winner of the 1998 national doubles championship. In 1999, Esmail competed in both the junior French Open and the junior U.S. Open.
A native of Coquitlam, British Columbia, born April 7, 1981, Esmail is the son of Brenda and Karim Esmail. He graduated from Fraser Valley High School of Distance Education in Vancouver, B.C., in 2000. Esmail is a 2005 graduate of the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Foreign Language (French) & International Economics.
