Ons Jabeur Set To Make History Following Latest Win In Indian Wells - UBITENNIS

Ons Jabeur Set To Make History Following Latest Win In Indian Wells

The 27-year-old Tunisian has rewritten the history books during what is a breakout year for her.

By Adam Addicott
5 Min Read

After achieving various milestones for Arab tennis throughout her career, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur is set to break another record following her fourth round triumph over Anna Kalinskaya at the BNP Paribas Open.

The 12th seed stormed to a 6-2, 6-2, win over her Russian opponent in just under 80 minutes in what is only her third main draw appearance at the tournament. Against Kalinskaya, Jabeur won 83% of her first service points and broke her opponent four times overall. She has now won 47 matches on the WTA Tour this season which is more than any other player.

“She’s an unbelievable player,” Jabeur said of her opponent in her on-court interview. “She’s everywhere, she gets every ball, so I had to use each angle from the court. The drop shot helps, the slices—my forehand was really good today.
“I’m really happy with my performance.”

As a result of her latest victory, the 27-year-old will make her top 10 debut in the world rankings next week which will be a historic moment for Arab tennis. Jabeur will become the first player from the region – male or female – to break into the top 10. She already held the record as the highest ranked Arab player of all time at 14th along with Morocco’s Younes El Aynaoui who reached that position twice in 2003 and 2004.

“I mean, it’s a dream coming true,” Tennis Now quoted the Tunisian as saying on Tuesday night. “It’s something that I’ve been waiting for for a long time.”
“Obviously I didn’t get the breakthrough just after the juniors, which is completely okay with me. “It wasn’t at the beginning, to be honest. But the way it is, I took my time, I had to understand better the tour. It’s not easy coming and playing like I’m playing right now.” She added.

Jabeur is enjoying a breakthrough season where she won her maiden WTA title at the Birmingham Open. Becoming the first Arab woman in history to do so. She has also reached the final of the Chicago Open and the Charleston Open, as well as the quarter-finals at Wimbledon.

“I am happy that it’s finally there,” she said. “It’s been my goal, I said it from the beginning of the season, that I want to be top 10. There are so many things that I want to improve, and I am still improving. This is just the beginning of so many great things. I know I am reaching my goals right now, but I feel there is a lot of hard work that I need to do still.”

As one of only four top 20 seeds remaining in the women’s draw in Indian Wells this year, Jabeur will play Anette Kontaveit in the last eight. Kontaveit thrashed Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-0, 6-2, in her fourth round match and has already won two titles since August.

Jabeur leads her Estonian rival 2-1 in their head-to-head and won their most recent meeting in Cincinnati earlier this year.

“Expecting a very tough match. Last time we played was in Cincinnati, but now I feel like Anett is a different player, more confident right now. She’s playing unbelievable. I watched her when she won the title in Ostrava. I will have to play my game. I will have to change up the rhythm,” she commented on her upcoming match.

Jabeur is the second-highest ranked player remaining in the draw after 10th seed Angelique Kerber. A player she could face in the semi-finals should both progress to that stage.

Leave a comment