Watching his father and older brother playing on the tennis court inspired a 5-year-old Mazen Osama to pick up a tennis racket.

Three years later, he played in his first tournament, and he won it.

Now at the age of 20, the 5″10 freshman from Cairo, Egypt is already making a name for himself on a professional and a collegiate level at the University of Alabama.

“I think it made me think love the game more and also by starting at an early age you improve faster than if you would start late,” Osama said.

Osama has seen success on a professional level before reaching Tuscaloosa, he has been ranked as high as No. 473 in singles play by the Association of Tennis Professionals and No. 813 in doubles. He reached the semifinals or better in eight singles and eight doubles International Tennis Federation’s Futures tournaments.

In 2012, he achieved a No. 24 ranking in ITF World Junior Circuit and reached the singles quarterfinals at the Yucatan Cup and single and doubles semifinal of the 2012 Eddie Herr Championship.

The following year, he competed in the Australian and French Opens. In the Wimbledon Junior Championship, he was eliminated by Argentina’s Pedro Cachin 7-5, 7-6 in the first round. He was a singles finalist at the 2013 ITF African Closed Junior 18 & Under Championship.

“2013 was a big year for me,” Osama said, “I was at the top of my peak and was very excited to be in the top 30 so I can play some Grand Slams. I had some good matches against Nick Kyrgious before Australian Open and played against Borna Coric in the French Open, so I played some good matches out there.”

Instead of continuing his international career, Osama decided he wanted to go to college and play. His coach back home graduated from Alabama and he already had a relationship with coach George Husack and a few players, so he decided to come to Alabama to continue his tennis career.

“The reason I choose to go to college because in my opinion everything is offered here,” Osama said. “Whatever you need is going to be here starting from facilities, coaches, and trainers. So I think it’s a good step to be professional and also being in a team is something I always wanted to try.”

When the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s preseason rankings were released a few weeks, he was selected as the top newcomer in the Oracle/ITA Division I Men’s National Newcomer/Freshman Rankings.

This past weekend, Mazen and the Crimson Tide tennis team finished out the Crimson Tide Four-In-The-Fall tournament at the Alabama Tennis Stadium with eight victories between the singles and doubles. He finished the weekend with a singles record of 3-0.

“The tournament went pretty good played well and earned my first three college wins,” Osama said. “So it’s a good start, but am looking forward for Tulsa next week.”