Ons Jabeur's heart is in Doha

Unlike Iga Swiatek who has won three consecutive times, Ons Jabeur's best result at the WTA Doha tournament is only twice reaching the quarter-finals. However, one of the tennis events in the Middle East holds a special place in Jabeur's heart.

Jabeur advanced to the second round of the WTA 1000 Doha 2025 after defeating McCartney Kessler with a score of 6-2, 6-0 in the first round held on Monday (10/2/2025). In the second round, the Tunisian tennis player will face the seventh seed from China, Zheng Qin Wei.

Jabeur's appearance in Doha was her seventh since she first appeared in 2012 as a wildcard by the organizers. However, in her debut and in the years that followed (except when she was absent in 2014) until 2019, Jabeur always lost her opening match. Except in 2016 because she appeared in the qualifying phase, Jabeur always played as a wildcard.

"At that time, it felt very difficult. I received a tough draw and had no experience, but the host did not give up on me and kept giving me wildcards. I also felt very welcomed by the public in Doha," said Jabeur on the official WTA website.

In order to experience victory, Jabeur also played in the doubles category in Doha, namely in 2012, 2016, and 2018. She partnered with Fatimah Al-Nabani (Oman) in 2012 and with Qatari players on two other occasions, namely Olla Mourad in 2016 and Mubaraka Al Naimi two years later. However, Jabeur still could not taste victory.

Seven years after first setting foot at the Khalifa International Tennis and Squash Complex and after ten consecutive losses (without a single win), Jabeur's moment in Doha finally came in 2019.

The first victory was felt together with Alison Riske when they defeated Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Kveta Peschke in the first round with a score of 2-6, 6-3, 11-9 after the opponents failed to convert match points. Jabeur/Riske then advanced to the semifinals.

A year later, Jabeur finally achieved victory in the singles category, three times in a row, advancing to the quarterfinals. She even mentioned that her performance in 2020 was the best in Doha. The 30-year-old tennis player still keeps a video of the audience celebrating her victory. In the same year, Jabeur reached the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 for the second time, in Cincinnati.

The second quarterfinal in Doha came in 2022, before she missed out the following year. Those two quarterfinals were a far cry from Swiatek's achievements in Doha, where she won in 2022-2024. The Pole paved the way for a fourth straight title when she defeated Maria Sakkari in the second round, 6-3, 6-2.

In the 2022-2023 period, Jabeur achieved the best achievements in her career as a professional tennis player, namely by winning the 2022 WTA 1000 Madrid, becoming a finalist at the 2022 US Open Grand Slam, and a finalist at Wimbledon 2022 and 2023. Jabeur also occupied the highest position in the world rankings she had ever been in, which was second. All of that makes her the African and Arab tennis player with the highest achievements.

However, in the 2024 competition season, her performance was disrupted by shoulder and knee injuries, causing her to miss four WTA 1000 tournaments and the US Open. So, when she could play well, Jabeur, who is currently ranked 35th in the world, was very grateful. She showed that, one of which was when she appeared at the WTA 500 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, last week. Although she lost to Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals, Jabeur was able to show her best game that had been missing for the previous year.

"To be able to play at a high level against a top 10 player in the world means a lot to me. It gives me a lot of confidence to come here," said the player nicknamed "Minister of Happyness".

Jabeur will need that confidence and a better performance against Zheng on Tuesday, especially since she lost both of her meetings with the 2024 Paris Olympics women's singles gold medalist at the 2022 WTA Toronto and 2023 US Open.

Being able to play at a high level against a top-10 player in the world means a lot to me.

In addition to getting older, Jabeur said she is different today than she was in previous years. She tries not to be too hard on herself, a factor that caused her to lose three Grand Slam finals.

"That attitude didn't help. I hope that changes on and off the court can bring me better results. I'm sure I can get back to my best without looking back," said the tennis player who still maintains the desire to win a Grand Slam. (AP)