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Ons Jabeur: Top 10 “just the beginning of great things”

  • Matt Trollope

Ons Jabeur is this week the first Arab player, male or female, to ever crack the world’s top 10 in tennis.

The Tunisian on Monday rose to a career-high ranking of No.8 after advancing to the semifinals of last week’s tournament at Indian Wells, where she fell to eventual champion Paula Badosa.

RELATED: Badosa, Norrie capture biggest career titles at Indian Wells

Jabeur's quarterfinal victory over Anett Kontaveit was the result that confirmed she would become a member of the sport’s elite ranking group. 

“This is a dream coming true,” said Jabeur, after beating Kontaveit to claim a tour-leading 48th match win in 2021.

“This is something that I've been wanting … (back) when I was 16. Even before, I always wanted to get there, to be No.1 in the world.

“Top 10 I know is the beginning. I know I deserve this place from a long time since I was playing well. But I want to prove that I deserve to be here, I deserve to be one of the top 10 players.

“I'm very happy, a lot of emotions right now. I just believed in myself, I worked hard, and this is just the beginning of great things.”

Jabeur, 27, has been creating history throughout her pro career.

In 2017, she became the first Arab woman to reach the third round of a major when, as a lucky loser ranked outside the top 100, she upset No.6 seed Dominika Cibulkova in the second round at Roland Garros. 

At Australian Open 2020 she became the first female Arab player to reach a Grand Slam second week, going on to reach her first major quarterfinal that fortnight. 

She repeated her quarterfinal feat at this year’s Wimbledon, not long after breaking through for her first WTA title with her grass-court triumph in Birmingham. 

She was the first Arab woman to win a tour-level title, and two months later she made her top-20 debut after beginning the season ranked No.31. 

This season alone she has notched five wins over top-10 players, including Grand Slam champions Sofia Kenin, Bianca Andreescu and Iga Swiatek (twice). 

“It is much different to come from my country than being American or French or Australian,” Jabeur reflected.

“They have not just the example of seeing players playing in front of you, (but) more tennis clubs, even more tournaments.

“I've been rejected by sponsors because of where I come from, which is so not fair. I didn't understand why before. I accepted it. I dealt with it. I am really proud of the person I became today, just not relying on others.

“I'm not saying I have the most difficult (career). I just wanted to really do this. It's my dream. I didn't want to depend on a sponsor or someone who doesn't even care about tennis or doesn't even care about sport in general.

“It gave me the courage to continue and achieve my goals, and I'm in top 10 today.”

Her ascent to the world’s top 10 captured the attention of several of the sport’s current stars and past legends.

“I honestly did not expect Andy Murray or (Martina) Navratilova or Billie Jean King to tweet about me. It's unbelievable,” Jabeur said.

“Just it shows how important it is to me to achieve this. 

“Being recognised by legends, honestly, it just gives me even more the power to work harder and be like them one day maybe, a Grand Slam champion.”