Ons Jabeur and her journey at Wimbledon 2021 deserves to be celebrated as she gunned down three grand slam champions on her way to elevate her ranking
Ons Jabeur kept urging the crowd to raise the voices of cheers as she went to pack her bags after stunning seventh seed, Iga Swiatek. Ons Jabeur picked up a memorable victory against one of the favourites. On gunning down the Pole, she became the first Tunisian player to reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals.
Tunisian Ons Jabeur Wimbledon 2021 Ranking
The WTA 21st seed dropped only her second set of Wimbledon 2021, but it did not stop her from winning. Jabeur hails from a small town named Ksar Hellal in Tunisia and grew up nearby the coastal town of Sousse. The 26-year old has two older brothers named Harmen and Marwen, alongside an elder sister Yasmine.
Ons Jabeur ranking ahead of Wimbledon 2021 stood at 24.
Jabeur’s mother played Tennis recreationally and ushered her daughter to the sport, aged three. After nine years, she moved to Tunis to train at the Lycee Sportif El Menzah, a renowned school for upcoming athletes. Aged 16 years, Ons also trained in Belgium and France. Jabeur married Karim Kamoun in 2015 and her Instagram account suggests she seems to love cycling.
Ons Jabeur parents role in her success and early years in the sport
Ons Jabeur revealed that her parents made plenty of sacrifices while she was growing up. The 26-year old recalled her mother driving her to tennis practice every day and sending her to a special school. Jabeur thanked them for having a belief in her dream when it was not guaranteed to come true.
A year after starting her time in the ITF Junior Circuit, Ons Jabeur entered the ITF Women’s Circuit in 2008. The Tunisian’s first WTA event came as a wildcard at the Qatar Open in 2012. But Jebeur lost her to the then world number 103 Virginie Razzano. She also received a wild card entry at the Dubai Tennis Championship.
But the 26-year old failed to qualify yet again. Nevertheless, that same year her first French Open draw came along. Unfortunately, it ended on an underwhelming note as she picked up only one victory. The following her she participated in the qualifying competitions of Wimbledon and French Open, but lost both the opening fixture of both the events.
Ons Jabeur’s repeated failures and bouncing back
Her tough times were not heading for an end anytime soon as Ons Jabeur failed to get past the qualifying rounds of Wimbledon and the French Open. It looked like a breakthrough had arrived when she entered two grand slams in a row – the 2014 US Open and 2015 Australian Open.
But Jebeur suffered defeats in the opening rounds of both tournaments yet again. The downward trend continued in 2016 as well Ons could not make it past qualifying rounds of Wimbledon and US Open. It began improving in 2017 when for the first time she qualified for all four grand slams in a year.
The next three years saw Ons Jabeur reach all four grand slam competitions. However, the Tunisian biggest achievement was reaching the quarter-finals of the 2020 Australian Open. 2021 has started on a magnificent note as her WTA win arrived at the Birmingham Classic, beating Daria Kasatkina in straight sets.
Ons Jabeur Becomes First Tunisian To Reach Quarter-Finals Of Wimbledon 2021
Not many might have placed their bets on the Tunisian to throw up the kind of surprises that Jabeur so far has. The 21st seed beat four-time Wimbledon champion, Venus Williams in straight sets. By doing so, Ons Jabeur became the first Tunisian player and the first woman from an African nation to reach the third round of Wimbledon.
Zimbabwe’s Cara Black, who featured in the 2005 event, was the last one. Jabeur continued her dream run by gunning down another former Wimbledon champion Garbine Muguruza in the third round. The 26-year old accomplished a win despite being down by a set. Furthermore, she made it to round 16 for the first time.
But 20-year old and the 7th seed Iga Swiatek was going to be probably her toughest opponent so far. And Jabeur immediately experienced what it was like to face the Pole. Yet, the margin of her first-set loss was only 5-7. However, the tables turned massively on Swiatek as the Tunisian hardly offered her any opportunities.
The second set left Swiatek dazed as she managed to win the first game after being 0-5. Perhaps, what significantly contributed to Jabeur’s victory was the conversion of break-points. The Tunisian converted all seven of it, while Switek did only three out of 15.
Ons Jabeur’s shot at legacy in Wimbledon 2021
Aside from the break-point factor, Jabeur accumulated only 23 unforced errors to the Pole’s 30 and collected 92 points. A few of her drop shots were effective and forehand shots were ferocious enough, especially on the brink of closing the set that Swiatek had no answers to it. Swiatek had only won two games in the following couple of sets.
By winning 5-7, 6-1, and 6-1, Jabeur became the first player from her country and the first Arab woman to reach the Wimbledon quarters. The 21st seed also made it to her second grand slam quarter-final and the first Arab player in over eight years to get to Wimbledon’s last eight.
The world number 24, whose grass-court record stands at 10-1, has everything in her repertoire. Ons Jabeur has the attitude, mental strength, wisdom, level-headedness, and several notable skills. But the road ahead is about to get rocky. Can she withstand the pressures and make her nation proud?
Also Read: Wimbledon 2021 Predictions, Pairs Who Could Win The Men’s Doubles’ Title’