Rahim Esmail

Now in his sixth season at the helm of the Samford men’s tennis team, Rahim Esmail has lifted the Bulldogs to an NCAA Tournament appearance, a Southern Conference Tournament championship, a 17-win season and a share of the 2012 SoCon title.

Esmail, one of the hottest up-and-coming young coaches in the Southeast, piloted Samford to a 17-5 overall record in 2012 and finished with a stellar 9-1 mark in SoCon play in his first season as the Bulldogs’ head coach.

In 2013, Esmail helped Samford make history by earning the first No. 3 regional seed of both school and SoCon record. The Bulldogs also garnered their highest ranking in program history (No. 57) and snapped a 31-match, 52-year losing streak versus in-state rival Alabama.

Samford’s win over the Crimson Tide proved to be its first against a ranked opponent in the school’s expansive tennis history. The Bulldogs also concluded the year ranked nationally (No. 62) for the first time.

In 2014, Samford opened dual-match play ranked No. 63 in the nation for the initial time in school history and was selected to compete in the sixth annual ITA Kick-Off Weekend which was hosted by the University of Virginia at the Boyd Tinsley Courts at the Boar's Head Sports Club.

On Oct. 19, 2011, Samford Director of Athletics Martin Newton tabbed Esmail as the head tennis coach.

“I’m excited to have Rahim join the Samford family,” said Newton. “His energy, enthusiasm and connections in the tennis world make him a great fit to take our program to the next level. What sold us on Rahim was his ability to compete at the highest levels in tennis, and his ability to relate and motivate young players to aspire to do the same. I’m excited about the future of Samford tennis under Rahim’s leadership.”

A former standout at the University of Kentucky, Esmail joined the Bulldogs after spending four years as an assistant with the University of Alabama women’s program.

Prior to his appointment at Alabama, Esmail spent one year as an assistant coach for the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Eastern Kentucky University while completing his course work for a master’s degree in sports administration. His responsibilities included on-court coaching, recruiting and various administrative tasks.

Esmail spent two years on the ATP Tour, where he reached the finals of three professional tournaments, once in singles and twice in doubles. He posted wins over top ATP Tour players such as Tommy Robredo, Feliciano Lopez and John Isner.

As a player at the University of Kentucky from 2001 to 2004, Esmail was a fixture at No. 4 singles and No. 1 doubles for the Wildcats. In 2002, he went 31-4 in singles and 23-2 in doubles to help Kentucky climb to No. 4 in the national rankings, serving as a team captain for the Wildcats in his junior and senior seasons.

Esmail was ranked as high as No. 54 nationally in singles at Kentucky and attained a doubles rank as high as No. 8. As a junior, he was a six-time Canadian National singles finalist, a three-time junior Davis Cup team member, and winner of the 1998 national doubles championship. In 1999, Esmail competed in the junior French Open and the junior U.S. Open.

A native of Coquitlam, British Columbia, Canada, Esmail is the son of Brenda and Karim Esmail. He graduated from Fraser Valley High School of Distance Education in Vancouver, B.C., in 2000. Esmail is a 2005 graduate of the University of Kentucky with a bachelor of arts degree in French and international economics.