Ons Jabeur: A Fan Favourite

Ons Jabeur is much more than a tennis star; she's a Tunisian icon putting tennis on the North African and Arabic map, shattering stereotypes and inspiring women not only in her homeland, but across the globe.

Ons was born in Ksar Hellal, a small town in Tunisia, on 28 August 1994. She is the most decorated Arab and African tennis player in history, following her agonising runner-up achievements at the 2022 US Open, and of course, The Championships, Wimbledon 2022 and 2023 - with the former leading to her World No. 2 Women's Tennis Association (WTA) ranking in June 2022.

Ons Jabeur's tennis career in short

Introduced to the sport by her mother (who used to play recreationally herself), Ons began her tennis journey at just three years old. She trained under a coach from the age of four, moving to the country's capital, Tunis, at 12 to train at a national sporting high school for Tunisia's top sporting prospects.
Ons moved to Belgium and then France to continue her development, joining the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Junior Circuit in August 2007. In 2011, Ons won the junior French Open title - becoming the first North African woman to reach this level. Since turning to the pro circuit, Ons has triumphed on five occasions - with the most decorated being the WTA 1000 Madrid Open in 2022.

Her tennis style

Ons is not necessarily what the tennis purist would label as a 'traditional-style tennis player' - she has a reputation for enjoying playing 'high-risk high-reward' tennis, ever-opting for the difficult shots, with a focus on slice and drop shots on any surface. Ons brings power, energy and an infectious smile to any court graced with her presence - all of which has inevitably lent itself to making Ons a must-see crowd favourite!

Favouring grass?

Unlike many players, Ons hasn't said specifically that she favours a particular tennis surface - but at the Grand Slam level, she does hold her highest win percentage on the famed grass of Wimbledon (74%).
In addition, she has previously chosen another Keith Prowse grass-court event - Rothesay International Eastbourne - as her first grass-court tournament of the summer season. Ons was a semi-finalist at Devonshire Park in 2019, then teamed up in the doubles with the legendary Serena Williams in 2022, but, back to singles in '23, came up short in the round of 16 last time around.

 

What about off the court?

Ons is a devout muslim, and is married to a Russian-Tunisian former professional fencer, Karim Kamoun - who has also been her fitness coach since 2017.
Ons is of course very marketable and has many a commercial sponsorships - and last year, in 2023, she made her Netflix debut as part of the fly-on-the-wall tennis docuseries, Break Point.
In the summer of 2023 - furthering her perennial efforts to empower women in sports and beyond - Ons also purchased a minority stake in the US-based National Womens Soccer League (NWSL) franchise, North Carolina Courage…joining fellow tennis icon, Naomi Osaka!

Back to tennis; what's next for Ons Jabeur?

With further Rothesay International Eastbourne 2024 player announcements to come, Ons could well be part of the field once again as she readies herself for grass-court tennis season - as part of the warm-up for Wimbledon.

When she does take to the stage at SW19 for the Wimbledon Championships, can she finally go one better this year - in front of her adoring British public - to lift the coveted Venus Rosewater Dish on Centre Court? We here at Keith Prowse cannot choose favourites, but a big part of us does really want to see the oh-so-lovable Tunisian make in third time lucky in South West London this summer.