Emma Raducanu reveals Ons Jabeur’s kind gesture ahead of their first-ever meeting
Emma Raducanu and Ons Jabeur will face each other at the Abu Dhabi Open and the former has made some interesting comments about her next rival ahead of their first top-level clash.
The pair will meet in the second round of the WTA 500 tournament on Wednesday after Raducanu impressively negotiated her way past Marie Bouzkova in the first round – securing a 6-4, 6-1 victory – while Jabeur had a bye into the second round.
Raducanu admits that the second-seeded Tunisian – a three-time Grand Slam finalist – will have the home support at the Middle Eastern event while she also revealed that the former world No 2 has looked out for her since she made her debut.
“She’s definitely the home favourite here, rightfully so,” the 21-year-old said of Jabeur. “I really like Ons, she’s someone who’s kind of taken me under her wing as I’ve been new to the tour.
“I’m really looking forward to it because a lot of people were saying to me, ‘Oh, Ons, Ons, Ons!’ And I was like, ‘I’m playing Marie who’s ranked like 30 in the world, so that’s not an easy match!’ But I’m really pleased to have put myself in this situation, and I’m going out with nothing to lose against her.”
The winner of the Jabeur-Raducanu clash will face either sixth seed Beatriz Haddad Maia or Magda Linette in the quarter-final and it will be a welcome boost for both following disappointing Australian Open campaigns.
Both lost in the second round at Melbourne Park with Raducanu’s defeat to Wang Yafan not too big a surprise following her nightmare 2023 campaign, although Jabeur’s 6-0, 6-2 loss to 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva did raise a few eyebrows.
Raducanu has already moved up 37 places in the WTA Rankings following her win on Monday and another victory could see her move into the top 250 again.
Jabeur, meanwhile, has slipped to No 6 in the rankings, but the Tunisian will remain in that spot even if she wins the title as Elena Rybakina has a 1,500 lead in fifth place.
The 29-year-old, though, has bigger goals than winning the Abu Dhabi title.
“I mean, it’s not a secret that everybody knows that I want to win Wimbledon,” Jabeur told Arab News. “But I think the preparation starts from now, everything from now.
“I think I’m learning a lot of things in my game, my mental game as well, to be prepared for these huge tournaments. But I think I’ll take it one step at a time, one month at a time, and see how it goes and hopefully be arriving healthy to Wimbledon.”
READ MORE: Emma Raducanu set for huge rankings boost after thrilling win in Abu Dhabi
