Ons Jabeur shares important message for African girls after historic campaigns at Wimbledon and US Open
Ons Jabeur shared some golden advice not just for upcoming tennis players, but young African girls in general, as she continues to create tennis history for Africa with her performances at the Grand Slam level. The underlying sentiment in Jabeur's appeal to youngsters back home is to "never give up."
Tunisia's Ons Jabeur became the first African woman to reach a Grand Slam singles final when she reached the Wimbledon final in July. On Thursday, Jabeur became the first Arab and African female player to reach the US Open final. She has become an inspiration for rising stars back home and is already a fan favorite across the tennis world.
Jabeur fell short of victory in Saturday's US Open final against World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. Dejected in defeat, Jabeur still had some invaluable words of encouragement for African girls in particular.
She highlighted the challenges she herself has overcome over the years, losing many big matches before she started to win titles, en route to scaling great heights in tennis. She hopes her experience can serve as a learning example for others.
"Always believing in themselves, never give up," Ons Jabuer said during her post-match press conference, when asked of her message to African girls.
"Definitely that's what I was trying to do all my career. I had some ups and downs. Before, it was injuries and getting to know myself on the court. After, it was losing quarterfinals. Then it evolved to losing finals. Then getting titles. Then I moved on," Jabeur added.
Ons Jabeur put a smile on all of our faces this #USOpen https://t.co/eVMcjGRIox
Jabeur said that she learned a lot from playing in tennis tournaments in Africa as a youngster. Facing strong competitors there helped her develop a fighting spirit. Jabeur hopes others too can find the right guiding force in their lives as she did.
"I played a lot of African tournaments before and championships. The way they fight there and everything, it's just amazing. Hopefully just one day they can find the right person to guide them and be here. But most important not to give up," the new World No. 2 said.
Another incredible run, @Ons_Jabeur 👏
Keep inspiring 🫶
https://t.co/PQMOfBQIzP
"In the future maybe I can share my experience one day and show them a little bit the path" - Ons Jabeur on inspiring tennis players in Tunisia and Africa
During her speech at the trophy ceremony after the US Open final, Ons Jabeur expressed her desire to inspire many more generations of tennis players from her country Tunisia and the African continent. She elaborated on the same in her press conference, declaring that her one big goal is to win a Grand Slam title, which could serve as a big injection of inspiration for upcoming tennis players back home.
"Well, results-wise, definitely win a Grand Slam just to really show that it's not impossible for someone coming from my country, from my continent, to have that title," Ons Jabeur said.
She also aims to guide them now and in the future, sharing experiences from her career and showing them the right path. Jabeur hopes to see more and more tennis players coming through from the African continent and making it big on the professional circuit.
"Just keep improving. In the future maybe I can share my experience one day and show them a little bit the path. I mean, I don't want them to waste little bit their time like I did in some things because I didn't know what to do at some point. Kind of show them and guide them. Hopefully to see more and more players," she added.
History 🇹🇳 History 🇹🇳
Ons Jabeur is the first North African, Arab, and Tunisian woman to reach the #USOpen final.
The US Open run propelled Ons Jabeur to the World No. 2 spot in the WTA rankings and the same will reflect officially when the rankings are updated on Monday.