Ons Jabeur, the Tunisian tennis star seeking Wimbledon glory

Winning Wimbledon has long been a dream for Ons Jabeur. Before competing in last year’s final, she made the championship trophy — the Venus Rosewater Dish — the screensaver image on her mobile phone. Asked this week what picture she had now, she replied: “Can I answer after the final?”

Jabeur is not a naturally patient person but she has been working on it. The Tunisian tennis player, now 28, is yet to win a Grand Slam title. On Saturday, she’ll get another shot after reaching the final of Wimbledon for the second year in a row.

“My team always looks at me as if to say: ‘Be patient, don’t worry, it’s going to happen, it’s going to come,’” she said after winning the semi-final against world number two Aryna Sabalenka this week. This year she says she’s a “different player”. “I’m working on myself like crazy. You have no idea what I’m doing.”

Standing on Centre Court on Thursday evening, an emotional Jabeur said: “I’m very proud of myself because the old me maybe would have lost that match today and went back home already. But I’m glad I kept digging very deep and finding the strength,” before being interrupted by cheers from the crowd. “I’m learning to transform the bad energy into good.”

Jabeur was born in the town of Ksar Hellal but now lives in Tunis with her husband and full-time fitness coach Karim Kamoun, a former fencer. She began playing tennis at the age of three — her mother enjoyed the sport and took the young Ons along to her club. 

“I saw her playing and then I grabbed the racquets. I wanted to play also. And I was a troublemaker. She had to let me do something to be quiet,” Jabeur said in an interview last year.  

As a child she moved to Tunis so she could improve her tennis. After winning the junior French Open in 2011, Jabeur slowly made her way up the global rankings, reaching the top 100 in 2017 and then the top 50 in 2020. Her breakthrough moment came when she won the Madrid Open in 2022, which brought her international attention. Soon after, Serena Williams asked her to play doubles at Eastbourne in the run-up to Wimbledon.

Before last year, the furthest Jabeur had gone at any Grand Slam was the quarterfinals. After Wimbledon, she went on to reach the final of the US Open, only to be beaten again. “I’m going to learn a lot from not only [last year’s] Wimbledon final but also the US Open final, and give it my best. Maybe this year was all about trying two times and getting it right the third time,” she said.

On Saturday, Jabeur will once again carry the hopes of a nation, and a continent, as she attempts to become the first African and first Arab woman to win a Grand Slam title. “For me there is one goal: I’m going for it. I will prepare 100 per cent. Hopefully I can make history, not just for Tunisia but for Africa,” she said ahead of the final.

At home in Tunisia, Jabeur is often referred to as the “Minister of Happiness” — a reflection of her infectious positivity and irrepressible sense of humour. To commemorate her run at Wimbledon last year, La Poste Tunisienne released a special stamp featuring a smiling Jabeur holding the Tunisian flag and punching the air. 

To win the coveted title, Jabeur must now overcome Markéta Vondroušová, the tattooed Czech ranked 42nd in the world. The pair share many attributes — including a height of 5ft 6in. “We’re the same in some things. We’re playing drop shots. We’re playing slice,” Vondroušová said of her opponent. “She’s used to playing finals in a Grand Slam. I mean, it’s a final, so it’s going to be a tough match”.

Ranked sixth in the world, Jabeur has not had an easy road to this tournament. She needed surgery on a knee injury after the Australian Open this year and was only able to return to competitive matches in March.

In the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, she faced reigning champion Elena Rybakina but was able to overcome her powerful serve to win the match from a set down. “It’s not great going in the locker room and seeing Elena’s picture but I try to take it off,” Jabeur joked ahead of the tournament.

The tall, hard-hitting Sabalenka was an equally daunting challenge, and appeared on track to win after taking the opening set and breaking Jabeur’s serve early in the second. However, the Tunisian’s fast hands, quick thinking and mental endurance again proved decisive. “She got the opportunity, she took it”, said Sabalenka after her defeat. “I was a little bit emotionally down, then she was up. She was just going for some crazy shots, which I would say normally she wouldn’t put in.”

Her rivals have often spoken of Jabeur’s warmth and charm. At the end of her Wimbledon semi-final last year, she broke with tradition and pulled her defeated opponent into the middle of the court to enjoy her own moment of adulation. 

Those same attributes have made her a firm favourite for those watching. At one point during her semi-final on Thursday, Jabeur held a finger up to her ear and turned to the roaring Wimbledon crowd. On securing victory, she blew kisses.

“I always spoke of the connection between me and the crowd. I believe the crowd gives me the great energy” she said. “Thank God they’re not against me.”

josh.noble@ft.com