Ons Jabeur states that she doesn’t mind if people have different perspectives on the country, although some individuals are unaware and naive of the situation in Saudi Arabia.
Jabeur is among the few tennis players who have openly supported the hosting of women’s tennis in Saudi Arabia. When the famous WTA Finals are held in Riyadh at the end of the regular season in November, it will be a historic moment.
Tennis greats like Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova have harshly criticized the choice to relocate the WTA’s main annual competition to the Gulf Kingdom. They collaborated on an open letter to the WTA Board that appeared in the Washington Post earlier this year.
After defeating Leylah Fernandez in the Madrid Open third round, Jabeur told reporters that while she is not worried by people’s comments, she is troubled by those who do not plan to visit the nation to be in a position to offer an unbiased opinion.
Jabeur expressed her thoughts about it and said: “I am always honestly biased in this position here and the decision they took. I’m very happy to be there. As an Arab woman, I’m very proud that some things are moving to Saudi Arabia. People could have different opinions. What bothers me is when some people don’t know what’s happening there and are super ignorant about what’s happening in Saudi Arabia. So as Princess Reema said, You should come to Saudi Arabia, be there, and judge yourself.”
She added: “I think if you’re in another country and not coming there and seeing how Saudi Arabia is being played, for me, even though I’m not from Saudi Arabia, I would extend the invitation for everyone to come and see for themselves. If they don’t like it, they will share their honest opinion. We are not telling them to say you like it or anything. I wish to see better comments. For me, it has always been about chances and going there not just to play tennis matches but to give the opportunity, especially for younger women, to see their role models from before and to believe that they can achieve anything.”
Ons Jabeur says she doesn’t mind if people have different opinions about Saudi Arabia, but some people are ignorant and don’t know what’s going on there, ‘I would extend the invitation for everyone to come see for themselves’
“Just wondering about your reaction on the WTA Finals… pic.twitter.com/ONUXRCqRc4
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) April 27, 2024
Jabeur in Madrid, ranking, and results in 2024
LLWWLWWLWW Currently ranked no.9, Jabeur owns a composed 5-7 record in 2024. Ons is now having a run in Madrid where she managed to beat the world no.68 Anna Schmiedlova 6-4 5-7 6-3 and the world no.35 Leylah Annie Fernandez 7-5 2-6 6-4.
Ons Jabeur will play the world no.10 Jelena Ostapenko in the 4th round. Their actual record is 2-2.
The Tunisian won 5 titles in her career: 1 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 2 on grass courts. (See the list of her titles)
