Ons Jabeur aims for the top of tennis with a smile on her face: 'My game is fun. It's a reflection of my character'
The Tunisian trailblazer - known as the "Minister of Happiness" - claimed her fourth career title last week in Charleston and next has her eyes on a Grand Slam: "I don’t want to stop here."
Tennis
Having been stunned in the second round of the Australian Open in January, Ons Jabeur walked into the back hallways of Rod Laver Arena and crouched down, head in hands.
The two-time major finallist and world No. 2 was at a crossroads.
After a historic year in which the Tunisian trailblazer in tennis made both the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals, the 28-year-old struggled to find her form to open the 2023 season, and in February, she underwent a minor knee surgery, which she said was a success.
But upon returning to the WTA Tour, she faced an uphill battle, and had won just half of her first eight matches of the year.
That all changed this past week, when Jabeur stormed to the title at the Charleston Open – her first since June of last year – without dropping a set. The victory catapulted her back into the world’s Top 5, and immediately vaulted her back into the Roland-Garros conversation.
Is Jabeur ready to win a Slam?
“I don’t want to stop here,” she told reporters in Charleston after winning her fourth career title. “I want to continue to do more. Definitely, I’m happy, and probably will celebrate for one day... and then I will get back to training and get back to hopefully winning more.”
Ons Jabeur on... Ons: ‘The connection with the crowd is important to me’
Known in tennis as “the Minister of Happiness”, Jabeur takes that light-hearted title seriously: She feels she plays her best when she – and the fans – are having the most fun.
“The connection with the crowd is very important to me,” Jabeur told a roundtable of reporters in Charleston. “The energy that they give me on the court, it is very important.”
“As long as I put a smile on my face [and] really laugh with the crowd, and enjoy playing on the court, that's what I play the best. Sometimes I forget to do that, unfortunately. But I try to remember after all that, it's just a tennis match, you know? I'm supposed to have fun. My game is fun, you know? So that's a reflection of my character.”
Jabeur’s game is fun: Whacky spins, plenty of drop shots, changes of pace, and an ability to confound opponents. She plays to the crowd, sticks her tongue out – is anguished and delighted both. At one point in Charleston, she feigned biting the throat of her racket after a missed shot.
She also produced the shot of the week (maybe month) in the championship match against Olympic gold medallist Belinda Bencic, who had beaten her last year in the finals: She chased a ball down on the baseline and hit a between-the-legs forehand (known in tennis speak as a “tweener”), then a shot later a diving backhand slice winner past Bencic. (See the point below.)
She is an anomaly in elite sports: The more relaxed she is, the better she plays.
“Tennis is just a part of my life,” Jabeur said, noting she plans to stop “in a few years.” “I really want people to remember me as a fun character. I like to put a smile on people’s faces. A smile can change someone’s day.”
“I think that’s more important than hitting a ball or winning a match.”
No more second-best vibes for Ons Jabeur
Jabeur was a junior Grand Slam champion in 2011 at the French Open, beating another Olympic champ – Monica Puig (Rio 2016) – in the final. Her rise in women’s tennis has been slow, breaking into the Top 100 not until 2017 – and Top 20 in 2021.
But it’s been only on the up since then.
Twelve months ago, after reaching the Charleston final, Jabeur won the WTA 1000 event in Madrid, becoming the first Arab and Tunisian player to do so. She followed that victory up with the aforementioned historic efforts at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open, vaulting her to world No. 2.
She isn’t out to be second-best, however, no matter how relaxed she is on court. A year ago, under immense pressure, she was dumped out of the French Open in the first round. Yet she’ll have another go in just over a month’s time at Roland-Garros, the same venue set to be used for Paris 2024.
“It wasn’t great last year,” Jabeur confirmed, before pointing out she has few ranking points to defend there from 2022: “Maybe I can play more freely there.”
“[Last year] I had an amazing level during the clay season,” she said. “If I can have a strong level [again], I can have a great time at the French Open. That’s one of my goals; I cannot wait.”
But Jabeur also always likes to throw in the unexpected, and she did here, too: “But also, I’m going to be very, very excited to play Wimbledon this year,” she added. “The heart speaks now.”
How the tennis plays out from Jabeur’s heart in the next few months... that’s for fans to wait and see.