WIMBLEDON, England – In Tunisia, his hometown and inspiration, Ons Jabeur has earned the nickname “The Minister of Happiness”.
While there have been many dark moments along his rare and winding path to Saturday’s Wimbledon singles final, he spread joy for the All England Club on Thursday.
In Henman Hill, the Guizanis, a Tunisian family living in London, cheered from their picnic blanket on the sloping grass as Jabeur defeated Tatiana Maria of Germany 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, to become the first Arab or An African Woman reached a Grand Slam singles final in the Open era, which began in 1968.
“It is very important for women to be successful, to play sports,” said Ibtissem Guizani, who was attending Wimbledon for the first time with her husband Zouhaeir and 4-year-old son, and was dressed in red in honor of Jabeur and Tunisia. .
“See you in Ons,” he continued. “And she makes us feel proud of her and us.”
Jabeur, runner-up, and Maria, number 103, had used all the big canvas in their semifinal match on the center court: they frequently ventured into the lush, underused lawn of the court while cutting approach shots and throwing The net; overloaded; or caressed fall voles.
It was old-school, but hardly passed, and the crowd responded with roars and whispers, not only for its element of surprise and novelty, but for its eagerness.
Jabeur, in particular, enjoys exploring the range of shooting possibilities in a way reminiscent of Roger Federer, with whom he has been compared since he was 12 years old. Like Federer, Jabeur doesn’t just play ball. He plays with it and not just with his strings. Let a tennis ball fall close to your feet and your football juggling skills also become apparent quickly.
She is a cheerleader who may soon be Grand Slam tournament champion if she manages to beat Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s final, but she wasn’t so wrapped up in Thursday’s win as to forget about Maria, her good friend .
Moments after Jabeur’s victory, he insisted on sharing the spotlight instead of taking the normal course and greeting the entire crowd. He grabbed Maria by the wrist and threw her back on the track despite her protests and gratefully pointed out her direction to recognize Maria’s unexpected journey to this semifinal as a 34-year-old mother without a series leader. of two young children.
“It’s an inspiration for so many people, myself included, to come back after having two babies,” Jabeur said. “I still can’t believe how he did it.”
Jabeur, 27, has worked hard to believe in herself. He came from a country and a region that had produced some professional players, including Selima Sfar, a Tunisian who achieved a ranking of 75 in 2001, but had never produced a talent capable of challenging the most important awards.
Jabeur has worked with sports psychologists since adolescence and has developed a particularly fruitful connection in recent years with Melanie Maillard, a Frenchwoman introduced to him by Sfar, who has worked with French tennis players and other athletes for more than 20 years.
“I’m very lucky to have found the right person who could push me and get to know me so much better,” Jabeur said. “It’s all about the connection. We’ve done a great job and we’ve come a long way.”
Maillard was not at this year’s French Open, where Jabeur, one of the favorites, was upset in the first round. But Jabeur has long planned to have Maillard back with her at Wimbledon. Last year he was with Jabeur when he reached the quarterfinals, finally fell in love with grass tennis and told Maillard, “I’ll be back for the title.”
Now, he’s a match away.
“It’s rare for anyone to dare say it and dare to accept it,” Maillard said at Wimbledon on Thursday. “Ons was once a shy young woman. She matured with effort and questioning herself and constantly looking for better approaches and solutions. She is very open-minded and has a family that supports her a lot. She has a husband who he agreed to leave everything for her, to follow her everywhere, and that is also powerful. “
Jabeur, born in the coastal town of Ksar Hellal in Tunisia, grew up in a family of four children playing on the tracks of local hotels and a local club. Although her integral sports talent had coaches from other sports such as football and handball by teams trying to keep her away, she stayed with tennis and went to train and study at a sports school in Tunis, the capital, at 13 years of age.
Jabeur, with his quick wit, was a fan of Andy Roddick in his youth and, while training, pretended to be Kim Clijsters or Serena or Venus Williams.
She won the junior title at the French Open at the age of 16 and has spent time coaching in Belgium and France, but has long since returned to Tunisia, where she lives with her husband, Karim Kamoun, who is also her physical trainer. It remains deeply connected to the country.
“Now tennis is like football in Tunisia, people follow my matches,” Jabeur said in a recent interview. “And I appreciate that a lot, and I appreciate that tennis is becoming more popular. What has always been missing is what we have to believe the most that we can do, no matter where you come from.”
His lifelong connection to Tunisia is quite contrasting with Rybakina, his surprise rival in Saturday’s final. Rybakina, born in Moscow and long considered a promising young Russian, began representing Kazakhstan four years ago while continuing to train regularly in Moscow.
A major former Soviet republic, Kazakhstan has recruited several top-level Russian players since independence and provided talents such as Rybakina with the funding and support they often lacked.
Although Wimbledon has banned Russian and Belarusian players from this year’s tournament due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the ban does not apply to Rybakina, a 23-year-old girl who became the Kazakhstan’s first Grand Slam finalist to overwhelm 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona. Halep, 6-3, 6-3.
“I’ve been playing in Kazakhstan for a while now,” Rybakina said, noting that he has represented the country at the Olympics and in the Billie Jean King Cup team competition.
“I am very happy to represent Kazakhstan,” he said. “They believed in me. There is no longer any doubt about how I feel.”
When asked if he still felt Russian in his heart, Rybakina replied, “What does it mean for you to feel? I mean, I’m playing tennis, so for me I’m enjoying my time here. I’m sorry for the players who haven’t I was able to come here, but I’m just enjoying playing here on the biggest stage, enjoying my time and doing my best. “
With its great service, long range and penetrating base power, the No. 17 Rybakina could be a formidable obstacle for Jabeur. This will be Wimbledon’s first women’s final in the Open era between two players without an individual Grand Slam title, and neither Rybakina nor Jabeur had passed the quarterfinals in a major in singles so far.
The final on Saturday comes on the same day that much of the Muslim world, including Tunisia, begins to celebrate the feast of Eid al-Adha.
“If I do it on this special holiday, one of my favorites actually, it will be great,” Jabeur said.
The Guizanis, part of their growing Tunisian fan club, are scheduled to return to Henman Hill on Saturday.
“Let’s celebrate with Ons, inshallah,” Ibtessem Guizani said.