Ons Jabeur applauds Morocco's historic win against Rafael Nadal's Spain in FIFA World Cup
Ons Jabeur reacted to Morocco's epic win against Spain in the Round of 16 of the 2022 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday. Jabeur, who hails from Tunisia, applauded North African neighbors Morocco for reaching their first-ever quarterfinal at the FIFA World Cup, and that too by knocking out football powerhouse Spain, the home country of the likes of Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Paula Badosa.
Morocco beat Spain in a nailbiter, eventually prevailing in a penalty shootout. They now have the opportunity to become the first African nation to reach the World Cup semifinals if they can manage to beat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Saturday's quarterfinals.
WTA World No. 2 Jabeur took to her Instagram story to applaud the Moroccan team soon after Tuesday's game at the World Cup in Qatar.
During the match, Nadal and Alcaraz also took to social media to express their support for Spain. Unfortunately, their team ended up on the losing side.
Jabeur has closely been following the ongoing World Cup and also celebrated Ronaldo's goal in Portugal's opening group-stage match against Ghana.
Meanwhile, the 2022 Wimbledon and US Open finalist also recently had a fun chat with Belgian tennis great Kim Clijsters regarding the World Cup. She asked Clijsters if she could join her in Qatar if their respective countries make the final.
"Ons Jabeur and I, we were texting the other day, before the Tunisia game. She was like, 'If Belgium and Tunisia meet in the final, let's go!' And I was like, 'Alright, we'll meet up there then'," Kim Clijsters revealed on The Craig Shapiro Tennis Podcast.
Unfortunately, for them, both Tunisia and Belgium have been knocked out of the World Cup. However, Tunisia scored a historic win against defending champions France in the group stage.
Ons Jabeur reveals she would have been a pro football player if not a tennis player
Earlier this year, Ons Jabeur spoke about her love for football and her admiration for Cristiano Ronaldo. Speaking to the BBC during her 2022 Wimbledon campaign, Jabeur said that Ronaldo has always inspired her and that she once even got a signed shirt from the Portuguese great. The Tunisian superstar admitted that if not for tennis, she would certainly have been a professional footballer.
"Football is my other sporting passion and if I wasn't a tennis player then I'm sure I would be a footballer," Jabeur said. "I love watching football and I'm a huge Cristiano Ronaldo fan. He's a great athlete and just an inspiration for me. When Cristiano played at Juventus I managed to get a signed shirt from him - that was incredible."
Jabeur last competed in the WTA Finals in November. She lost her opening two matches but ended her campaign on a high with a victory against Jessica Pegula in her final round-robin match. Jabeur ended the season as the World No. 2 for the first time in her career.