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Ons Jabeur of Tunisia plays a forehand during her Women’s Singles fourth round match against Qiang Wang of China on day seven of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 26, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Fred Lee/Getty Images)
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Ons Jabeur of Tunisia plays a forehand during her Women’s Singles fourth round match against Qiang Wang of China on day seven of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 26, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Fred Lee/Getty Images)
2020 was undoubtedly one of the toughest years for every individual. However, amid the challenges, Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur played her best season to date. And as the highest-ranked Arab woman, the 26-year-old looks forward to an even bigger 2021.
Last year, Ons became the first Arab woman to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament at the Australian Open. She fought hard; however, she lost to the eventual champion of the tournament, Sofia Kenin.
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MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – JANUARY 24: Ons Jabeur of Tunisia celebrates after winning match point in her Women’s Singles third round match against Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark on day five of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 24, 2020, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Mike Owen/Getty Images)
After that, she made it into four WTA quarterfinals, at Qatar Open, Top Seed Open, Cincinnati Masters, and Ostrava Open. She also reached the third and fourth round at the US Open and French Open, respectively.
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This made her crack the Top 50 for the first time and become World No. 31. Currently, she is in Abu Dhabi, competing at the first WTA tournament of this year.
Notably, the Abu Dhabi Women’s Tennis Open is being played for the very first time. It is also the first time WTA season kicks-off in UAE.
Ons Jabeur believes she can crack the Top 10 in 2021
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Sofia Kenin of the United States celebrates after winning her Women’s Singles Semifinal match against Ashleigh Barty of Australia on day eleven of the 2020 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 30, 2020, in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Ahead of her match against Russia’s Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova at the WTA Abu Dhabi, Ons revealed her goals for 2021. She said, “The goal for this year, I want to go for titles, enough of quarterfinals!”
Considering her performance last year, it is fair to say she can win her maiden WTA title. However, alongside titles, the Tunisian also wants to climb higher in the ranks.
“I want to be in the Top 10,” Jabeur stated. “I know I have the level, I can be in this ranking.”
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Continuing her rhythm for 2020, she is confident to make the year count for something.
“For me, I set up my goals like this, and I know that I can achieve them,” added World No. 31. “I know that I’ve put in the hard work to have these titles, to be able to win more and more, so let’s see.”
In case Ons manages to ace through the first tournament only, she might go full-gear in 2021. However, the tournament also has the likes of Sofia Kenin, Elina Svitolina, Karolina Pliskova, and many more.
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As the season has already started, it is time to sit back and watch players battle over the skills. Will Ons win her maiden title in 2021?
Also Read: Petra Kvitova and Ons Jabeur Announce Intriguing Sponsorship Deals Before 2021 Season
