How Tennis Saved My Life tells the incredible story of Sam P. Jalloh, a Sierra Leonean war survivor determined to play tennis for his country to escape poverty and conflict.
He once played tennis barefoot despite war and is now a successful international tennis coach and motivational speaker who inspires others to achieve their dreams.
Read on to find out more about the BBC Inspiration Award winner 2020 who learned to beat the odds.
What inspired you to share your story with the world?
Since I became an international tennis coach working with players from England, the US and all over the world, the one question that fascinates people is: “where am I from?” Sierra Leone is known around the world because of the war and the movie Blood Diamond, and because of this, people want to know more about my story.
I wanted to tell people more about the situation in Sierra Leone in-depth, and I was also inspired by the fact that children from the western world don’t appreciate what they have. One day, a kid I coached was misbehaving, and what with me being an African guy, I told her to behave otherwise I was going to grab her and throw her over the fence! Of course, it was a joke and I’d never do that, but her dad called me over asking to have a word. Thankfully, he liked the way that I spoke to his daughter, and he told me that they’ve given her so much but she doesn’t understand the value of what she has.
It turned out he was a writer, and he liked my story and gave me 18 months to write it… I wrote it in six!
When did you realise that tennis was your preferred sport?
Ever since I was four years old, my mum would take me to the jungle to cut wood to sell and burn charcoal, and on the way we would pass this tennis court. I would always wonder about this strange and wonderful sport, and the age of nine, I was playing something called ‘boat bat and hand’ tennis, which were common games on the street back then.
When my mum and dad separated, I was on the streets and I moved back and forth with my mum and sisters. All of a sudden, we had moved 10 yards away from that tennis court! One day, I overheard a kid say that “children who have gone to represent Sierra Leone travel to Togo and they get an allowance – up to 250 US dollars!” Coming from a very poor family, this was the most shocking news: I could use this money to feed my family, to pay my school fees, and to help my dad who was struggling financially.
Plus, I wanted the national tracksuit so badly that I would do anything… so this was my driving force, and it drove me crazy to the point where my mum thought I was losing the plot!
What challenges did the civil war bring when trying to reach for your tennis dreams?
I remember in 1992 when the fighting began, and then in 1994 when the rebels started coming into Freetown. I saw the brutality of how they murdered so many women and children, and I saw bomb explosions that instantly killed many people.
Every time we played tennis, it was difficult because when we did have tournaments we had to stop everything as the country shut down. But we were very lucky because the tennis court was close to the Presidential Lodge, which had a lot of security around. Even though we knew there was trouble, tennis helped us because the only safe place we had was a tennis court.
Nobody was thinking about tennis during the war, but it gave someone like myself hope that one day when this was all over, I could travel and play internationally.
There’s a lack of Black African players in the Grand Slam – why do you think that is and what needs to be done to change this?
The first problem is that tennis is not a priority sport in Africa compared to athletics and football, and it’s also a very expensive sport. For one player we’re talking between £50,000 to £80,000 a year to fund all expenses, and in Africa, parents just can’t afford to spend that kind of money on their children. Yes, we have African players like Kevin Anderson and Raven Klaasen, but they come from the whiter part of Africa so their parents can afford it, or they have connections.
The second is that the African Tennis Associations or Federations are not well organised. I started playing tennis 30 years ago, and the problem is still the same. There are not enough tournaments, not enough coaching, education, or facilities. There is no planning, nothing, but Africa genuinely has the players and a lot of people with potential who could go on to win the Grand Slam.
Thirdly, the associations don’t involve ex-players like they do in the western world – I call this a recycled programme, where a child plays tennis, and they go professional until retirement. Then they become a coach and you bring them back into the system.
What happens in Africa is that ex-players become coaches, and then they go to America or Europe, and never come back. We’re so dependent on the ITF (International Tennis Federation) to help us, and thanks to them they do their best, but that’s not enough. We need to come up with independent institutes like in England they have the LTA (Lawn Tennis Association), the USA has its own version, and so do Australia and France.
What is it like travelling the world as an African coach?
Sadly, I’ve experienced discrimination: because I’m African, people’s first thought is that I’m black and therefore there must be no other coach available to travel with the kids, but coaching top players also means that people are keen to learn more about me.
The question I’m asked the most is whether I learnt tennis in theory or in England, because people tend to think that the level of tennis and coaching in Africa doesn’t match western standards. My tennis level is high because I’ve played with top players, and I’ve been fortunate enough to coach top players too.
I’m there to teach people that even in Sierra Leone we can play tennis – we’re not just fighting, we’re lovely people, and we raise talented tennis players.
You give back to the community through your charity work – can you tell us about that?
When I stopped playing tennis to become a coach, I wanted to dedicate my life to help change sports centres in Sierra Leone, so I set up the Max and Sam foundation, which was established in 2008 with Max Thompson, son of Liverpool FC legend Phil, where we use sports and education to help the younger generations.
After that, I launched a programme in Sierra Leone where I took tons of tennis balls and rackets and put a coaching programme together, and I then spent time in Sierra Leone reviving the sport, implementing the same programme in Ghana and Gambia. We were the first to introduce tennis to South Sudan, so that’s a record I’ll always hold.
I also do motivational speaking in schools to help encourage boys to not treat girls like second class citizens – making sure that we help girls and vulnerable children in Sierra Leone is important to me. I was also very honoured and thankful to become a patron for Girls in Sport in Sierra Leone. I will always do my best to help girls and boost gender equality.
What advice would you give to those hoping to pursue a dream?
One – have empathy and be compassionate to others. Secondly, applaud those who want to make it in life – choose what you want and work hard.
Thirdly, choose your friends wisely and surround yourself with the right people, you will go far. Sometimes life will give you not what you want, but what you deserve – if you work hard enough.
What’s the funniest thing that’s ever happened to you?
The first time I went on a stag do in Europe, it was in Benidorm, and it was the first time in my life wearing a dress! It was one of the most embarrassing things to happen to me because people were smacking my bum – this would never happen back home, haha!
What do you love most about being from Sierra Leone?
I love that Sierra Leoneans have the highest IQ in Africa, and that we are the most tolerant of different religions – Muslim, Christian, voodoo, whatever, it doesn’t matter.
We have a beautiful culture, where we love people that come from elsewhere, and we are incredibly passionate people.
To purchase Sam’s book How Tennis Saved My Life, visit Amazon; before you go, though, watch this BBC News Africa YouTube animation of his inspiring story here.
