Ons Jabeur continues to make history at the 2020 Australian Open. Already the first Arab woman to make the Round of 32 at a major, the Tunisian is now bidding to become the first Arab man or woman in the Open era to make the semifinals at a Grand Slam.
This year’s Aussie Open will have at least one Grand Slam semifinal debutante, as either Sofia Kenin or Jabeur will advance to the final four. This will be the eighth straight year that the Australian Open has seen a player making her Slam semifinal debut.
Here's more on Jabeur, who will hit a career high inside the Top 50 when the new rankings come out on Monday.
The Ons Jabeur File
Age: 25
Birthplace: Ksar El Hellar, Tunisia
Current Rank: 78
Career-High Rank: 51 (Sept. 9, 2019)
Best US Open Finish: Third round (2019)
The Baseline
- Jabeur won four matches in the first week of the 2020 Australian Open to advance to the quarterfinals in Melbourne for the first time. Since making her major debut in New York in 2014, Jabeur had won just six main-draw Grand Slam matches entering this season.
- The Tunisian has had success on the Grand Slam stage before, making back-to-back finals at Roland Garros as a junior in 2010 and 2011. She lost in 2010 to the now-world No. 5 Elina Svitolina but claimed victory in 2011 over future Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig.
- Jabeur is no stranger to making history, after she made the final of Moscow in 2018 and subsequently became the highest-ranked Arab woman ever. She is back to making history now with a few milestones reached already this tournament: She is the first Arab woman to make the third round or beyond at a Grand Slam, the first Tunisian player (man or woman) to advance to the fourth round or better at a Grand Slam, and the first Arab player to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam since Hicham Arazi at the 2004 Australian Open. Should she beat Kenin, she would become the first Arab in the Open era to make the semifinals at a Grand Slam.
- Of the eight remaining women in the draw, nobody has had a tougher road to the quarters than Jabeur. She has defeated world No. 13 Johanna Konta, No. 46 Caroline Garcia, No. 36 Caroline Wozniacki and No. 29 Qiang Wang. The average ranking of those opponents is 31, which ranks first among the eight women left. By contrast, her quarterfinal opponent Kenin’s average is 100, the highest of the quarterfinalists.
- Jabeur has three Top-10 victories under her belt over the past three years. She defeated world No. 7 Dominika Cibulkova on clay in the second round of the 2017 French Open, and she had just taken the first set over world No. 1 Simona Halep in the first round of the China Open in 2018 when the Romanian was forced to retire. Later that season, Jabeur upset world No. 8 and former US Open champion Sloane Stephens in the second round of the Kremlin Cup in Russia.
- Jabeur started playing tennis at age 3. Her husband, Karim Kamoun, is half-Russian and a former professional fencer who also doubles as her fitness coach. In London in December 2019, Jabeur was honored at the Arab Women of the Year ceremony for her achievements in the sport so far.
They said it!
“Well, I'm trying. I mean, quarterfinals for the first time, trying to inspire many young generation back home, either in Tunisia or the Arabic world, especially in Africa, which is amazing. I mean, it's not impossible. I made it. Like I said before, I've been practicing in Tunisia from the age of 3 through 16 or 17. I'm 100 percent Tunisian product.” — Ons Jabeur
