Reda Bennani denounces his “marginalization” and his exclusion from the Hassan II Grand Prix

Hibapress

The young Moroccan tennis prodigy, Reda Bennani, 17 years old and currently 19th in the world among juniors, openly denounced his “marginalization” by the technical management of the Royal Moroccan Tennis Federation.

In a video shared on his Instagram account, Bennani expressed his dismay at his deprivation of the wild card (invitation) to participate in the 38th edition of the Grand Prix Hassan II, contested this week in Marrakech, as well as a defamation campaign aimed at tarnishing his image and calling into question his patriotism.

“Although I am Moroccan and reside in Morocco, and I train with Moroccan executives, the Royal Moroccan Tennis Federation has never supported me. On the other hand, I was supported by the International Tennis Federation and the sponsors. My dream is to represent and raise the flag of my country in the best world tournaments,” he stressed.

And added: “There is no player in the world of the same level as me or lower who does not receive financial support from his federation. However, I have received more than 10 invitations in recent years from abroad, including one for a Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid, Spain.

Furthermore, in response to recent statements by the technical director of the Royal Moroccan Tennis Federation, Reda Bennani explained why he was unable to participate in the African Under-16 Championship, highlighting his commitment to the tournament professional Masters 1000 in Madrid.

In a statement to our colleagues from Le7tv, the director of the Grand Prix Hassan II, Hicham Arazi, tried to explain the absence from the tournament of Reda Bennani, 19th in the ITF Juniors world, with unconvincing words: “It’s a young person who has his character (…) I don’t see why the Federation wouldn’t give him an invitation, if the behavior was there, was respectful. It’s not just about tennis. Tennis, once again, junior results don’t mean much.”

Note that three Arab tennis players had received wild cards to participate in the 38th Hassan II Grand Prix, namely the Moroccan Elliot Benchetrit (660th in the world), the Tunisian Aziz Dougaz (234th in the world) and the Jordanian Abdullah Shelbayh (228th in the world).