Lansing Sun

Michigan State freshman tennis player Taym Alazmeh does not remember much about his childhood home in Damascus, Syria. He and his family left in 2011, when he was eight, due to the outbreak of war and a worsening political situation.

Many families were not as fortunate to escape safely. According to the UN Human Rights Office, more than 300,000 Syrian civilians died between 2011 and 2021. Their departure from Syria may have saved their lives.

"My parents felt that it was not safe for us to stay and it would be better for our future to leave," Alazmeh said. "We all left together. Me, my brother, my mom, my dad. We moved to Qatar because we had family living there."

Alazmeh mentioned he was not completely aware of the situation at such a young age and did not realize it might be the last time he would be in Syria. As he grew older, this realization became more difficult.

"I find it pretty sad I don't have that many memories just because we left when I was so young," Alazmeh said. "I would love to go back and get a clearer picture of what it's like."

Tennis has been a constant in his life through the family's moves from Syria to Qatar, then Germany, and now at Michigan State University (MSU). Alazmeh started playing tennis at age four with his family in their backyard and began sessions with a coach around age five.

It has not been easy for Alazmeh moving across countries three times throughout his life. Despite uncertainty and change, he has become a key addition for Michigan State tennis since arriving on campus.

After living in Qatar for eight years, Alazmeh's family moved to Frankfurt, Germany because his mother is half German and they hold German passports. Part of the reason for their move was due to limited opportunities for practicing tennis in Qatar.

"I liked the opportunity, especially in terms of tennis," Alazmeh said. "Tennis there is on a pretty high level, so it was really good for me to develop my game."

Alazmeh practiced at Alexander Waske Tennis-University near Frankfurt full-time during the four years he lived in Germany while attending online school.

Adjusting to life in Germany took some time after spending his first 16 years in the Middle East. It required several years as everything—from people to social norms—was different from what he had known.

MSU Head Coach Harry Jadun met Alazmeh while recruiting in Germany during the German National Championships and other junior tournaments. Jadun believes meeting him in person influenced Alazmeh's decision to attend Michigan State over other teams from ACC and SEC conferences.

"I had a better connection with Harry than with the other coaches and I believed in his vision, so I decided to come here," Alazmeh said. "My parents met him and they felt comfortable about me coming here too."

The transition to MSU has been smooth for Alazmeh despite initial worries about moving again; he was welcomed warmly by his new team members during winter enrollment.

"I feel like my teammates made it much easier," Alazmeh said. "Coming straight into a team environment helps a lot because they were all there for me."

Jadun expressed delight having Alazmeh on his team due to his positive impact both on court performance-wise as well as interpersonally within team dynamics—describing him as one of Syria’s best players whose accomplishments speak volumes about him personally too: “All around he's just great human being… From leadership perspective… personality standpoint… meshed really well…”

A psychology major passionate about tennis drives himself daily toward improvement fueled by genuine enjoyment playing sport even finding difficulty keeping away courts off-days stating: “Enjoying playing pushes work hard practice every day…”

Describing journey roller coaster lacking true home amidst constant changes yet learning embrace chaos staying calm focusing positives; Jadun notes path taken reveals resilience ready see newest chapter unfold expressing excitement future holds career journey starting MSU: “Special kid glad team excited future holds just starting career journey.”