BIRMINGHAM, Ala. --- The Samford athletic department tabbed Rahim Esmail as the head coach of its men's tennis program Wednesday, it was officially announced by Athletic Director Martin Newton. Esmail, a former standout at the University of Kentucky, joins the Bulldogs after spending four years as an assistant with the Alabama women's program.
"I'm excited to have Rahim join the Samford family," said Newton. "His energy, enthusiasm and connections in the tennis world make him a great fit to take our program to the next level. What sold us on Rahim was his ability to compete at the highest levels in tennis and his ability to relate and motivate young players to aspire to do the same. I'm excited about the future of Samford tennis under Rahim's leadership."
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.
Esmail 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, he 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.
"I am extremely excited to come to a first-class institution like Samford University and become the Head Men's Tennis Coach," said Esmail. "I would like to thank Martin Newton and the rest of his staff for giving me this opportunity. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Alabama women's tennis coach Jenny Mainz and the rest of the athletic staff at the University of Alabama for running a first-class operation and helping me gain the knowledge to become a head coach. I am very fortunate to be working with a great group of student-athletes and a great staff at Samford. I look forward to developing the future of this program."
Esmail replaced former Samford men's tennis coach Kemper Baker who recently accepted the head coaching position at The Citadel.
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.