How Hijabi Serves is creating new opportunities for Muslim women in tennis

Founded in July 2025, Hijabi Serves grew from Bakhtaver’s own journey back to movement after a challenging period in her life. Looking to improve both her physical and mental wellbeing, she turned to tennis, a sport she had admired since childhood but had never tried.

For Bakhtaver, the motivation was deeply personal. “At the core of everything, Hijabi Serves for me is basically movement as a form of worship,” she explained.

Watching her mother live with arthritis, which affected her ability to kneel during prayer, inspired her to prioritise her own health through movement.

“Tennis helped me with healing and recovering after adversity in my personal life. For the first time in many years, I started smiling again every time I stepped onto the court.”

However, she quickly realised there were very few people who looked like her in tennis: “I realised there was basically no visibility of Muslims in tennis- forget women- there were no Muslims.”

That experience inspired her to create Hijabi Serves: a community where Muslim women could pick up a racket for the first time, develop their skills and most importantly, feel that they belonged.

The response in just one year has been remarkable. What began with around 20 women attending the first social session has grown into a thriving community. Over the past 10 months, Hijabi Serves has delivered approximately 17 sessions across London, with each session typically welcoming between 20 and 25 participants.

Together, these sessions have created more than 400 opportunities for Muslim women and girls to get involved in tennis, demonstrating the growing demand for inclusive spaces where they can play, connect with others and feel a genuine sense of belonging within the sport.

One of the major successes was through Ramadan and Eid events across England. Supported by the LTA and delivered with trusted community partners, the largest event was hosted alongside She Can Serve at Lee Valley Tennis Centre, providing a welcoming and culturally inclusive environment where many participants picked up a racket for the very first time.

“Muslim girls want to play and want to be active,” said Bakhtaver.

Coach Yasmin Palejwala has seen that impact first-hand. She has worked with the LTA for years but recently joined Hijabi Serves as a coach, and she has helped create welcoming sessions where women and girls can build confidence both on and off the court. She believes that creating environments where girls feel comfortable is often the key to keeping them engaged in sport.

“Being able to play sport in a space that felt safe was a huge thing for those girls,” she explained. “They could wear what they want, be around other girls like them, exist and be welcomed into that space exactly as they were.”

For Bakhtaver, challenging stereotypes has become another fundamental part of Hijabi Serves’ mission.

“Islam does not restrict us from movement or from looking after ourselves,” she said. “I’ve made my own decision to step onto a court and wear this hijab. I’m really proud that we’re loud and proud hijabis.”

While misconceptions remain, she believes there are also practical changes that can make tennis more accessible for Muslim women.

“A big win for me would ideally be to have a space where they can come in, take off their hijabs and play freely. It doesn’t necessarily have to be just hijab-wearing women. It could be anyone who prefers a more modest environment or simply want to feel more comfortable in themselves.”

Yasmin believes representation leads to participation. As one of very few Muslim female Level 3 tennis coaches in the country, she hopes more women will follow in her footsteps.

“Because we don’t have people at the highest level, our attention needs to move towards the grassroots level,” she said. “If they’re ready to step into leadership roles, they become those role models for the next generation.”

Alongside initiatives like Hijabi Serves, Rally Together London is helping to create a more representative female workforce across tennis. The programme delivered by the LTA in partnership with the Mayor of London aims to train 250 coaches, with more than half of those places going to women, while also creating 5,500 opportunities for people to engage with tennis across London communities. By opening pathways into coaching, leadership and volunteering, Rally Together London is helping to ensure the people delivering the sport better reflect the diverse communities it serves, creating role models who can inspire the next generation.

Their work reflects our ongoing commitment to opening up tennis central to this is LTA SERVES, which takes tennis into non-traditional venues and underserved communities, including mosques, temples and mandirs, helping to break down barriers to participation. By providing free kit and equipment, the programme is creating more opportunities for people from diverse backgrounds to experience the physical, mental and social benefits of tennis and feel part of the tennis community.

For Bakhtaver, the growth of Hijabi Serves has already shown what is possible when barriers to participation are removed.

“We’ve proven the demand. Now we need sustainable support so these opportunities can continue.”

Whether you’re picking up a racket for the first time or returning to the sport after years away, there are more opportunities than ever to get involved. Through grassroots initiatives like Hijabi Serves and our community programmes, tennis is becoming more welcoming and accessible for women and girls of every background.