Ons Jabeur is a two-time Grand Slam finalist and one of the most popular figures on the WTA Tour, with over 1.5 million social media followers. The Tunisian star reached a career-high ranking of No. 2 in 2022, just before making her best Major tournament run.
Jabeur became the first African woman to reach a Grand Slam final at Wimbledon in 2022, where she lost to Elena Rybakina in three sets. She repeated the feat the following year, again reaching the Wimbledon final but losing to Marketa Vondrousova. Since then, her form has slightly dipped, with her best result being a quarter-final appearance at the 2024 French Open.
Despite recent challenges, Jabeur has maintained strong relationships with fellow WTA players. In a guest appearance on the Nothing Major podcast, she revealed her best friends on tour are Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa. “I’m friends with Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka. We don’t hang out much, but we talk about the tour and everything happening,” Jabeur said. She also shared that although she used to struggle against Sabalenka’s power, she now enjoys their matches.
Jabeur’s head-to-head record with Sabalenka stands at 2-4, with her most significant win coming at Wimbledon 2023, where she triumphed in three sets to reach the final. Against Badosa, however, Jabeur has found it tougher, winning just one of their five meetings.
As of 2025, Jabeur has had a solid start to the year, with notable performances in Brisbane, Adelaide, and Melbourne. She reached the third round of the Australian Open before falling to Emma Navarro and picked up wins against the likes of Camila Osorio and Danielle Collins. With a 6-3 record so far, she is set to compete at the Abu Dhabi Open, where she will face top players including Elena Rybakina, Paula Badosa, and Emma Raducanu.
Jabeur hopes to build on her form and secure her first WTA title since September 2023, before heading to Doha and Dubai for the WTA 1000 events later in February. The 2025 Abu Dhabi Open kicks off on February 3, at the Zayed Sports City International Tennis Centre.
