Teen Turkmen tennis player Suleyman Hudayberdiyev has captured gold and silver medals at the "Asian 14 & Under Category 2 Jeddah" championship in Saudi Arabia. The championship, organized under the auspices of the Asian Tennis Federation (ATF), was attended by 36 junior tennis players under 14 years old from 13 countries.

The 13-year-old Hudayberdiyev performed well, claiming silver in the singles competition and capturing gold in doubles. In singles, he made it to the final after defeating Cameron Prattley (China Hong Kong) 6:2, 6:1, Elyas Algafli (Saudi Arabia) 6:1, 6:3, and Fahad Saif (Iraq) 6:0, 6:2. In the final match, he faced Pakistan's Muhammad Hassan Usmani, a repeat of the final of the "Ashgabat Open 2024". Though he lost, Hudayberdiyev made considerable improvement, having won four games in the match.

Hudayberdiyev and his singles rival Usmani joined forces in doubles and crushed the opposition. They crushed Jordanian duo Omar Hashem and Saif Hashem 6:1, 6:1 in the quarters, defeated Marcus Lorenzo Go (Philippines) and Fahad Saif (Iraq) 7:5, 6:2 in the semis, and claimed the title by beating the Saudi Arabian pair of Anas Alzahrani and Suhail El-Taji El-Farouqi 7:5, 4:6, 10:8 in a thrilling final.

One of the highlights of the event was the awarding ceremony, where Hudayberdiyev received his awards from tennis great Rafael Nadal, a multiple Grand Slam winner and Olympic champion.

Hudayberdiyev began playing tennis at six and gained popularity in 2023 when he won silver at the Central Asian U12 Championship in Ashgabat. His streak of wins persisted in 2024 with dominant displays across Central Asia, claiming silver medals at the "2nd Open Dushanbe Championship 14&Under" in Tajikistan and the "Issyk-Kul Tournament U14" in Kyrgyzstan. He also claimed a silver medal in doubles at the President of Tajikistan Cup and was a singles finalist at the "3rd Qatar Asian Junior Tournament 14 & Under" and "Ashgabat Open 2024."

Combining sport and study, Hudayberdiyev is an eighth-grader at Ashgabat's specialized secondary school №86 and speaks English. He is still trained by coach Gurbanberdi Gurbanberdiyev.

In an earlier interview, the youngster said he dreamed of making Turkmenistan proud by becoming the world's top tennis player. His recent success in Saudi Arabia is another step along the way to fulfilling his dream.

Ahmet Amanow.