Well wishes for Jabeur as Tunisian announces break from tennis

Everyone at the ITF wishes Ons Jabeur well as she takes a break from professional tennis.

Ons has enjoyed a wonderful career so far. On three occasions, she has narrowly missed out on becoming the first African woman to win a Grand Slam singles title after losing those respective finals, but what an inspiration.  

The Tunisian has always had a penchant for making history. In 2011, at the age of just 16, she became the first girl from North Africa to win a Junior Grand Slam title when she conquered all before at Roland Garros.

First spotted by Hichem Riani, the Tunisian General Manager of the Confederation of African Tennis – one of the ITF’s Regional Associations – in her hometown of Sousse, she moved to Tunis where she combined studying and tennis development.

Ons received support from the ITF-operated Grand Slam Player Development Programme in 2008 while part of the 14-and-under Touring Team to Europe. After a series of travel grants, in 2017 she became one of the first recipients of a Grand Slam Player Grant.

The former world No. 2 is a wonderful talent, and we cannot wait to see her back on court when she is ready.