When I was a kid growing up in England, there was a well-known trivia question that many people failed to answer.
Name three famous Belgians.
Of course, these days, it’s far easier, considering their football players have got so good, plus for those people based in the UK, we are familiar with some of their darts professionals, too. Household names, no less.
Sadly, for many people in the West, asking them to name three famous Kazakhstanis might also prove a challenge too far, although the more worldly among them would get to three without too much stress, as there are some very big names to be proud of from this country.
For future reference, however, let’s introduce somebody who might well become one of the names on that list towards 2030 and beyond… Amina Nurmakhan.
Already the No. 1 tennis player from her country in the under-16s’ bracket, Amina has been playing the sport since she was five, when her sister Sholpanai took her to the local club.
She fell in love with it off the bat, or, off the racquet, as it were, and Amina has battled her way to the top of the national rankings, taking no prisoners along the way.
Her first coach, Anton Mikhailov, recognised talent in her from the get-go, and regular training sessions with him steered her towards the top of each age group.
She explained to saqtimes.kz that she felt that it was right to move to the USA to take her game to the next level, although it wasn’t something she had been planning.
“I went there to play a couple of tournaments, Eddie Herr and the Orange Bowl, and at that exact time, I wasn’t a member of an academy, nor did I have a coach.
“I also won the Little Mo 11, in which I beat some local favourites for the title.”
“I met my current coach, Maxim Fomine, at one of the events. I had a few lessons with him, and I really enjoyed it. After that, I decided to stay in the USA and train there.”
Amina will always be grateful for the help she got when still in Almaty, but explained that moving to the USA means that players have to raise their level, because of the amount and level of competition. Add to that the high level of coaching expertise, and getting a place at an American (or European) tennis academy is a no-brainer for any aspiring pro player.
Tournaments tend to come in batches, and Amina might be on the road for weeks at a time before returning to Miami for more weeks of coaching.
“I play several tournaments in a row. This week I am in Nicaragua for a series of international junior events, and it’s going well.”
Amina Nurmakhan turned 15 in March and is still committed to getting a good education, although she might be pleased to learn that it was obvious to hear that she has been in the USA for a few years, the way she spoke English.
Balancing school and tennis is, and always has been, a challenge, and in Almaty, she would be up at the crack of dawn, or before it, training at a local club. School came next, before more training sessions preceded the usual evening commitments to homework and revision.
Friends and family were behind her all the way, and, something you might not expect to hear from a teacher, kudos to her parents for allowing her to put her talents first. They still insist that the studies get done well, though; a Plan B is always worth having.
“I loved playing from Day 1, but it was just for fun. Then I started to believe I could be really good after I won a host of kids’ tournaments before turning 9, including the Kazakhstan Championship.
“It took hard work and discipline, not to mention a lot of match practice, but I rose through the rankings.”
Amina didn’t say this herself, but it stands to reason that her decision to base herself in Florida came from needing a new challenge. As the top-ranked player in her national category, she would have a choice between taking it – or building on it. Her next comment made it clear which she opted for:
“I would like to enter the Top 100 in the world junior ranking, then play some women’s professional tournaments.”
This is what she says motivates her most of all: fulfilling a childhood dream.
Meeting professionals such as Leylah Fernandez is nice, but becoming one of those players, alongside maybe Elena Rybakina and Alexander Bublik, who inspire countless other young Kazakhstanis would mean more to her.
Aryna Sabalenka is her own favourite player, but the chances are that, at the same age, there won’t have been so much to choose between the two, meaning that the sky’s the limit for this talented player from Almaty.
So, in about 2029, if you’re in a British pub quiz and one of the questions is to name three famous people from Kazakhstan, Amina Nurmakhan could be one of the correct answers on the way to those coveted engraved tankards.