Meet Aseel Shaheen, the first Arab woman to officiate at Wimbledon

There have been many success stories on the grass of Wimbledon. One of those stories, just as unlikely as any, is playing out in the ongoing grand slam.  Aseel Shaheen, a 41-year-old woman from Kuwait, has become the first Arab woman to officiate at Wimbledon, which primarily houses British match officials. [caption id=“attachment_2329454” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Aseel Shaheen. YouTube screengrab[/caption] According to an  i100 Independent report, Aseel Shaheen is a line judge, who is one of around 350 men and women officiating at Wimbledon 2015. Shaheen says that she did not know anything about tennis before taking up the officiating course. “I kept going. It became a challenge for me because they would always nominate the guys and ignore me. I told them I wanted to be an international umpire, I have the qualification and I have the language skills, because I speak good English. So I went to officiating school,” the report quoted her as saying. She finished third in the class in her course and never looked back. According to a report in  the Express Tribune, Shaheen was a bit concerned that the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club would not be too welcoming of her due to the hijab she wears. But her concerns were quelled as the All England Club accepted her with open arms. “It’s an indescribable feeling being here, it’s something big, it’s a challenge,” the report quoted her as saying. Murray, Federer, Djokovic will have to wait a bit, but Shaheen has already won.