Roland-Garros 2023: Ons Jabeur, in search of an eternal spring

Ons Jabeur, 28, has had a prolific 2022 season. Last year, the Tunisian became the first Arab player to reach a Grand Slam final, win a WTA 1000 title and enter the top 10. She arrives at Roland-Garros very motivated, despite a start to the season truncated by injuries.

Ons Jabeur at a press conference at Roland-Garros, May 26, 2023. © Pierre René-Worms / RFI

Text by: Farid Achache Follow

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The weather forecast is sunny on the side of the Porte d'Auteuil on the occasion of the entry into the competition of the Tunisian Ons Jabeur, against the Italian Lucia Bronzetti, ranked 102nd. Jabeur, seventh in the world, who suffered injuries during this season, is determined to return to the light on the legendary French clay.

Fans in the aisles of Roland-Garros

According to the draw, the native of Ksar Hellal could find herself facing the formidable Elena Rybakina, fourth in the WTA rankings, in the quarterfinals. But no rush, Roland Garros remains the only Grand Slam tournament in which Jabeur has not yet managed to pass the knockout stage, which she had reached in 2020 and 2021. "It's a good goal for this year's quarter-finals!" she exclaims to a colleague who reminds her of the historic Parisian quarters of Moroccan Hicham Arazi (1997 and 1998).

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A little stress, nothing new, I know these emotions, "said the tricolor Alizé Cornet, when answering the first question about his state of mind during his press conference before the opening of the tournament. One can easily imagine that Jabeur would have had the same answer.

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I love Paris, being here. Tunisia is close to France, I have fans," Jabeur said. Like Poland's Iga Swiatek, still world number one, defending champion, who "likes to come back here", Jabeur does not discover Roland-Garros, which she played for the first time in 2017 as a "lucky loser" (she had been eliminated in the last round of qualifying of the tournament and drafted to enter the main draw, due to a last-minute forfeit in it, Ed). She had won the tournament in Juniors.

Recognition for Jabeur

A year ago, with his title at the Masters 1000 in Madrid and his final in Rome, Ons Jabeur arrived as a favorite alongside Iga Swiatek. To everyone's surprise, she was eliminated in her first match. "I dream of a Grand Slam, it has to happen one day." And why not in Paris?

Despite this disappointment in the French capital, the year 2022 is still a success for Jabeur who reached his first two Grand Slam finals, against Russian Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon in July, then against Swiatek at the US Open two months later.

Since 2022, everything has changed for the tennis player: "People follow me a lot in Tunisia. Maybe people watch tennis more than football and that makes me happy. It gives me energy." In the aisles of Roland-Garros, she is asked for selfies, she signs autographs and this makes her happy.

However, the Tunisian, nicknamed by her compatriots the "minister of happiness", swims in the fog, despite a title in Charleston on clay last April. His first part of the season was disrupted by physical glitches. Jabeur did not have the opportunity to defend his title in Madrid due to a calf injury. They also withdrew from Stuttgart after three games against Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. "I'm going to do my best, I've trained well this week. I'm 100%," she warns with a smile.

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• Tennis
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