Hanan Fadil Pursues Professional Polo
Imagine a high school basketball player receiving a call from the Los Angeles Lakers, asking if he can fly to L.A. to join LeBron James in the starting lineup for the NBA Championships. This scenario seems like an impossible dream.
Last fall, the equivalent happened to Hanan Fadil in the sport of polo. She was invited to play in the U.S. Open Women’s Polo Championship with the professional team La Fe. At the time, Hanan was beginning her senior year at MSA, preparing for her usual training and competitions with the UVA Polo team and various teams at King Family Vineyards. Then, she received a call from La Fe—a team that includes two of the world’s top polo players.
In polo, players are ranked from -2 to 10 based on skill and performance. An "average" player is ranked 0, and only 4% of players have a handicap above 2. Globally, just fourteen players hold a 10-goal rating. At the U.S. Women’s Open, Hanan played on a team of four with two 10-goal players: America’s Hope Arellano and British superstar Hazel Jackson. Hope Arellano, only a few years older than Hanan, is the United States' sole 10-goal player and one of the greatest players in polo history.
In essence, Hanan Fadil was invited to play alongside two of the sport’s best players on one of the world’s top teams in the most prestigious U.S. tournament of the season. This achievement underscores Hanan’s exceptional talent.
Why did La Fe coaches select Hanan to join their team? In high-goal polo tournaments like the U.S. Open, teams are capped at a combined handicap of 22 goals. With two 10-goal players already on the team, La Fe had only 2 goals left to allocate across two additional players. They needed young players who could compete at a high level but were rated only 1-goal each. Hanan was the perfect choice. Despite being relatively new to the sport, she possesses the skills, fitness, and determination of a far more experienced player.
Hanan remains modest about her accomplishments and credits MSA’s teachers and academic team for supporting her during her time away from school. “All my teachers were supportive the entire time, which I’m really thankful for. I don’t think I could pursue polo at such a high level and get such a quality education anywhere else. I’m so grateful that I could come to Miller, so I could pursue my passions.”
At the conclusion of the U.S. Open, Hope Arellano invited Hanan to train and compete full-time with her in California. There is no doubt Hanan is on her way to becoming a successful professional polo player and, who knows, perhaps the next 10-goal player from America.
