This Saturday, July 9, the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, 27, will play the Wimbledon final against the Russian Elena Rybakina. She is the first player from the African continent in the final of a Grand Slam. Which leaves neither the British press nor the Tunisian press indifferent. “Ons Jabeur is the first Arab player in the final of a Grand Slam”, titre The Guardian.
Ons Jabeur, 27, world number two in the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) ranking, was born in Ksar Hellal, in the Monastir region of Tunisia. For the professional player, tennis is a childhood passion. No one predicted that she would achieve such international success: “I’m from Tunisia and no one believed I could be here at Wimbledon as world number two.” tells the player BBC.
In 2008, Ons Jabeur took part in the Petits Ducs tournament in Dijon. And already, prejudice precedes it. While preparing her daughter’s suitcase, her mother hesitates on the number of outfits to put on, she tells the Tunisian media Inkyfada : “They told me it only needed two or three, because she didn’t have a ranking. They thought she was going to play two games and come back to Tunisia.”
Against all odds, she wins the tournament.
In 2011, at age 16, she won the Roland-Garros junior tournament and officially entered the big leagues. The successes are linked: she joined the WTA circuit in 2012, won three singles tournaments and reached seven finals.
Atstained in tunisia
The tennis champion proudly wears the colors of Tunisia. In 2021, during the health crisis, she auctioned off her racket from the quarter-finals of the Wimbledon tournament because, she explained on her Instagram account, she was unable to watch her country go through a bad patch without intervening: “The money will be used to buy necessary medicines and medical equipment.”
This attachment to his native country is reflected in his career choices. In the same interview with Inkyfadashe talks about her homesickness: “I had to go back to my roots to optimize my progress.” And talks about training methods that she could not find elsewhere: “Abroad, several coaches have tried to standardize my game a bit. […] In Tunisia, my coaches have always been able to adapt their instructions to my personality”.
“Onstoppable”
The public, who know so well how to invent nicknames to designate the great sports figures, called her “pioneer”, “warrior”, “Minister of Arab Happiness”, recount CNN in arabic language, or “Onstoppable”, a pun between Ons et Unstoppable (unstoppable).
For the future, the world number two imagines continuing to take care of future generations and affirms in Inkyfada want to found a tennis academy in Tunisia. To the BBC, she explains that she would like to spur Tunisian and African players:
“One of my main goals is to inspire as many people in my country to do what they want, especially to play tennis.”