Being an inspiration is part of the job for Ons Jabeur

Wimbledon
Ons Jabeur joking around

Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur sees it as her duty to inspire future generations to pick up a racket.

Jabeur doesn’t feel like being a role model to so many is a burden.

She became the first Arab or African woman to win a WTA 1000 event earlier this year when she lifted the Madrid Open trophy.

“I see myself like I’m on a mission,” Jabeur told the Guardian.

“I tell myself I chose to do this. I chose to inspire people. I chose to be the person that I am. I want to share my experience one day and really get more and more generations here.

“So I don’t see it as a burden, I see it as a great pleasure and great responsibility.

“It’s part of the job, it’s part of why I am playing today. And I do believe in sharing. Sharing could help me, help me as a player and help the other generations.”

Despite enjoying a breakthrough year, Jabeur says that she hasn’t been doing anything different.

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Heading into Wimbledon, Jabeur is motivated to make history again.

“I honestly don’t think that something changed this year,” she said.

“But the evolution that I’m getting from year to year, the experience that I’m getting, the matches that I’ve been winning are getting me more and more experience. That’s helped me to be the player that I am today.

“I feel like I needed to go through a lot of steps to achieve them and be the player I am today because I cannot just jump from step one to step 10.

“I’m the kind of player that takes my time, learning about myself, learning about some other things.

“I’m glad that at the beginning of the season I set my goals high, and said that I want to hold titles, win a Grand Slam and be top five. There is one more to achieve [a major] and hopefully I will achieve it.

“It would mean a lot [to win Wimbledon]. It’s just such a great tournament. I remember the crowd last year was amazing. It’s a surface that I can play really well on and I can enjoy myself. And that’s why I would love to get the Wimbledon trophy.

“Hopefully I will be ready. My eyes are on Wimbledon.”

Ons Jabeur

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