JABEUR EYES A STRONG RETURN
ARAB WOMAN OF THE YEAR IN SPORT STAYS POSITIVE DURING LOCKDOWN
Ons Jabeur, the Arab world’s top tennis player is hoping to maintain her momentum when competitive tennis ultimately marks a return around the globe.
Now limited at her residence in Tunis, Jabeur — who was named the Arab Woman of the Year in Sport last year — has become more of a mainstay on the WTA Tour since the past few years. “Maybe things won’t be the same as at the beginning of the season. Perhaps, my mindset won’t be the same, but I will always be hungry to win and to play even better and prove myself on court as the season goes on, whenever it does,” Jabeur told Gulf News in a chat from Tunisia.
“Everything happens for a reason. I am staying positive at all times. Maybe this period will give me rest while I make the time to work more on a few shots and practice more. Perhaps now the momentum may be lost a bit, but I am very positive and optimistic that all will be well”.
First introduced to tennis at age three by her mother, Jabeur reached two junior Grand Slam girls’ singles finals at the French Open in 2010 and 2011, winning the title in the second appearance. She became the first Arab player to win a junior Grand Slam singles title since Esmail Al Shafei of Egypt won the Wimbledon boys’ title way back in 1964.
Biggest challenge
She current ranking on the WTA is No. 39 — also her highest after becoming the first Arab woman to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open, earlier this year. She is also the highest-ranked Arab player in WTA history.
“Honestly the biggest challenge is to stay at home not knowing when I am to make a return to active playing,” Jabeur said.
“They are saying things will be back to normal in July, but I am honestly not sure if it is going to be possible by then. So, my goal at the moment is to stay healthy and enjoy this period that we are going through. As a tennis player I am not always home, so maybe this is a good time for me to enjoy home and a normal family life.”
The WTA and ATP tours have been suspended at least until mid-July with Wimbledon already cancelled and the French Open postponed till late September. Some of the top players have been realistic while admitting that the governing bodies should scrap this season and resume normal activity in 2021.
“All the time, I am trying to stay positive and try to do things that I couldn’t get the time to do
before. Of course, at all times I try to eradicate the negatives. And whenever the season resumes I know I am going to be OK and ready to be at my best playing at my top level,” she said.
Happy hunting ground
Born on August 28, 1994 to Samira and Ridha Jabeur in the small town of Ksar Hellal, Jabeur grew up in the larger nearby coastal town of Sousse along with her two older brothers (Hatem and Marwen) and an older sister, Yasmine.
She trained under coach Nabil Mlika for ten years before moving to the capital city of Tunis when she was 12 to train at the Lycée Sportif El Menzah, a national sport high school for the nation’s up-and-coming athletes.
Jabeur has won 11 singles titles and one doubles title on the ITF Women’s Circuit, and her lone WTA final was at the Premier-level 2018 Kremlin Cup in Russia.
Dubai has been a happy hunting ground for Jabeur and this year, she erased memories of her retirement against Elina Svitolina in the 2019 edition as the Tunisian battled over three sets for her first round win against American Alison Riske. However, she battled in vain a day later before going down in three close sets in their Round of 16 encounter against top seed and eventual champion, Simona Halep.