I sat with Jack Wyant, the U.S. coach, during the finals of the world championship individuals up in Allston, Mass. After about four points, he murmured: “racquet preparation.” Both Nours are exceptional, for their age (El Sherbini is just fifteen) in this regard. A lot of it is the accumulation of hours. They’ve been playing forever. El Tayeb started playing tournaments more than a decade ago.
And they’ve been training under some serious coaches. Amir Wagih, the Egyptian national coach, told me after the Nours finished their final that this was his eighteenth world title as a coach, starting in 1999. Eighteen from men and women, adults and juniors, individual and teams. This all might change in the long run, in the post-Mubarek Egypt, but for now they know what they are doing.
And they are serious. I asked El Tayeb if she’d take a few weeks off when she got home, to socialize and see friends and just luxuriate in achieving her goal. She said, well, no. because the day they land in Cairo is the first day of Ramadan, so a month of fasting will be upon her.