Adel Aref was born on 2 March 1980, in Tunis, Tunisia, to Mokhtar Aref and Fatma Dhouib Aref. The family moved to London when he was five, with his two brothers, Mehdi and Bechir Aref. He holds a bachelor's degree from Lycée Gustave-Flaubert (La Marsa) and a master's degree from International Business School Dubai Knowledge Village.[citation needed]
Career
International tennis refereeing
Upon returning to Tunisia at the age of 10, Aref joined the Tennis Club of Tunis and eventually became interested in refereeing. When he was 16, International Tennis Federation (ITF) executives spotted him on the tennis club courts, where an injury prevented him from playing, and offered him a scholarship.[citation needed]
Over the course of his career, Aref officiated over 2000 matches all over the world. ITF awarded him the Gold Badge for the highest level of refereeing at the age of 24, making him the youngest professional referee in the sport. A position was then offered to him at the Qatar Tennis Federation.[2][3]
He umpired games at the world's most prestigious tennis tournaments, officiating 30 events per year on ATP and WTA Tours. Aref was responsible for training all of the tennis officials to Olympic standard in the lead-up to both the Athens and Beijing Olympic games. During his career, he officiated seven Grand Slam finals, including the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, the US Open and three Olympic Games (Sydney 2000, Athens 2004, Beijing 2008).[4][5]
At the 2006 Davis Cup, a heated encounter with a young Andy Murray made headlines after Murray insulted Aref during a doubles match against Serbia and Montenegro, protesting a decision he felt was unjust. Murray was fined $2,500.[6][7] The two would eventually reconcile after an apology from Murray two years later.[8] That same year, he became Director of Officiating of Africa and the Middle East – overseeing over a hundred officials.[9]
Aref retired from umpiring in 2008 at the age of 28 following four years of officiating at the top level.[citation needed]
In 2022, Aref was selected by BeIN Sports to be their PR and Event director. He led PR campaigns for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, which was hosted in Qatar.[12]
In January 2023, Jabeur announced joining Naomi Osaka’s agency Evolve and bringing on Aref as her manager, who she described as a friend she known for a long time.[14][15]Jabeur was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2023.
