Aya El Aouni: Morocco's rising tennis star inspired by Ons Jabeur's success and making waves in the tennis world
The promising junior is among a generation of African players inspired by Jabeur's success in the Grand Slams. In an exclusive interview, she shares how the Tunisian's rise has inspired her as she looks to play in her biggest event yet - the Olympics.
Tennis
For Morocco’s Aya El Aouni, choosing tennis over other sports was an easy decision.
Her father played the sport, and she was surrounded by relatives who had spent most of their years in the tennis establishment.
As the stakes became higher and the young teen rose to become Africa’s top ranked junior, her passion for the sport never wavered once.
But she often wondered if she, as an African and Arab player, would ever reach the highest of heights on the court.
Then, for the first time in history, an Arab woman reached the finals of the 2022 Wimbledon and U.S. Open grand slam tournaments.
Ons Jabeur's success was a game-changer for El Aouni.
The Tunisian great's achievements gave many young girls, including Africa’s number two junior, a reason to dream and keep holding on to the racquet.
“She did have a positive effect on us, that we can do it, it’s not too far,” El Anouni told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview from Nairobi where she spearheaded Morocco’s victory at the 2023 Billie Jean King Cup Group III Africa in June.
“I've always dreamt of playing pro. And so, when you see that Ons Jabeur, she did it.”
How Aya El Aouni's tennis family shaped her passion
Aya El Aouni’s tennis path was forged by family.
She grew up seeing racquets at home and was always around courts with relatives who practiced and played the sport. It was only natural that she would also end up choosing the sport that had enthralled most of her family members.
“I started [playing tennis] when I was five, and I grew [up] in a family of tennis. In my family they played tennis but only in national tournaments in Morocco. My dad is [now] a coach. My uncle is a [tennis] coach,” the 17-year-old told us.
“I was always going with them to the club, seeing everyone playing. So, I started to feel like maybe I should also start playing.”
She played her first major event in 2018, and a year later she won her first Junior Singles title, an ITF event in Algeria. El Aouni’s progress was slow, as it was for many other African tennis players at that time.
Her talent was never in doubt, and though tennis is not the go-to sport in Morocco where football is king, the North African nation has a strong history of producing some world-class players, a record that motivated her.
She’d seen photos of the greats in clubs around her home nation.
There was Karim Alami, Hicham Arazi and Younes El Aynaoui, the latter, by far the country’s greatest, having reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 14 in 2003.
The young El Aouni, though, struggled to relate to their successes as she never watched them play.
“Yes, Morocco did have a lot of good. I won't say they influenced me, but they gave us positive thoughts that we can do it also.”
How Ons Jabeur's rise is changing tennis in Africa
But in 2021, when Jabeur won in Birmingham and Madrid, the Moroccan watched in awe.
Finishing runner-up at Wimbledon a year later, the Tunisian rewrote history.
She became the first Arab tennis player to reach the top 10 of either the WTA or ATP rankings, creating a lasting legacy for Africa.
The three time Olympian’s magical rise to prominence is a huge inspiration to players like El Aouni.
The interest in the sport in North Africa and beyond grew exponentially, and juniors training in clubs started to believe that ‘it was possible’.
“When you see that Ons Jabeur can win a grand slam, and she was ranked [number] two in the world. We say like. ‘Why not us’?
“We can hit a forehand, we can hit a backhand. Yes, we have to work more, hopefully one day we can do the same as her,” she said of her tennis icon.
“My role model in tennis is Ons Jabeur and [Aryna] Sabalenka.
“Ons Jabeur is a really good player and a good person. I always dreamt of playing pro. And so, when you see that Ons Jabeur, she did it. I think we can do it too, we just have to practice hard, be disciplined. We cannot give up, no matter how hard it is.”
Aya El Ouni on the power of representation in tennis
Seeing other women who look like them doing great things in tennis has also been a huge motivation for players like El Aouni who got her first taste of a Grand Slam at the 2022 Australian Open, competing in the girls singles**.**
“I also played the Roland Garros [juniors] last year, and I played quite well. I won a match and lost second round. This year, I lost in the first round. I played well, but I was a bit stressed, so it didn't help me,” she recalled.
“It was a really good experience for me. I played against the top 50 and it was a good match. And after that match I thought, I'm not far from these girls, I just have to practice more.”
At the 2023 Wimbledon Championships, there's World No.6 Jabeur and Egypt’s history-maker Mayar Sherif ranked 31, the first time in tennis history that two Arab women are seeded in a Grand Slam.
A rise that is emboldening a generation of girls.
“There are more African players and women playing tennis now. We cannot see them yet because most of them are still playing juniors,” said the Moroccan.
The tennis sensation is among African juniors standing out. At the Billie Jean Cup in Nairobi, she played alongside fast-rising female star Angella Okutoyi, the first Kenyan pro to win a Grand Slam junior title at the Wimbledon girls doubles last year when she’d also impressed at the Australian Open.
El Aouni is now refreshed for the next steps of her career on the biggest stage.
“[My dream] is to qualify for the Olympics Games. It will mean a lot to me to represent my country in a big event. So hopefully I’ll have the chance to play [there]."