Driving down the bustling streets of downtown Hebron in the occupied West Bank, air conditioning blasting, we pull over to pick up Rawda Alshreef. A tiny 53-year-old clad in a race-car-red thobe (a dress-like robe), matching high heels and a baby-pink hijab, her energy immediately fills the car as she begins cracking jokes.
It is not until we arrive at the sports hall, where she changes into her black and red Adidas tracksuit, that she finally looks like the current and longest-reigning female table tennis champion in the Palestinian territories. “In tournaments, they always ask where is Rawda Alshreef?” she says, laughing. “If I’m there, they know that I will win. If I’m sick or miss a competition, then they have a chance.”
Being an athletic champion at 53, while also being a mother of five and grandmother of 10, is a pretty badass move anywhere in the world. But in Hebron, the largest and most socially conservative Palestinian city, it’s downright unprecedented. But a combination of circumstance, a patriarchal society and family drama has kept Alshreef from a global breakout so far.
Since age 15, Alshreef has not missed an annual West Bank championship match. Holding the No. 1 ranking for 13 years, she has represented her country in multiple international competitions. This detail is the most important for Alshreef, as it is extremely difficult for Palestinians to travel in general and for women in conservative families to travel alone.
At 53, Rawda Alshreef is Palestine’s longest-running female table tennis champion
Rawda Alshreef stands in front of photos of past ping-pong champions and racquet teams in the Hebron sports centre, where she practices table tennis.