Besides Her Own Mother, Ons Jabeur Reveals the Only Tennis Player That Inspired Her to Bits

Ons Jabeur has reached the finals of the Grand Slam tournaments three times in her career so far. But unfortunately for the Tunisian, she has always been the second best in the ultimate battles. However, she isn’t the one to give up on her dreams. Who are those inspirational figures who motivate the former world number 2 through every thick and thin of her career?

Recently, Ons Jabeur spoke to Becky Anderson while giving an interview to CNN. Jabeur revealed her mother Samira Jabeur and the Belgian former tennis player, Kim Clijsters have been the biggest inspirations in her life.

Ons Jabeur calls Kim Clijsters a ‘very nice girl’

The 29-year-old Tunisian credits her parents for the sacrifices they made to help her reach where she is today. Her mother used to play tennis recreationally and had introduced her daughter to the racket sport at the age of 3. She used to drive her everywhere around the country so that she could participate in various tournaments. During the interview, Jabeur was asked about who was her childhood inspiration. To this, she said, “My mom was my inspiration.”

Jabeur continued, “She taught me how to be this tough girl and always try and win everything. And, yeah obviously when I grew up a little bit, I watched Kim Clijsters playing and she is a very nice girl. I met her also now. So it’s really inspiring.”

Ons Jabeur was left in tears last year after she failed to win the Wimbledon Championship for the second time in a row. She stated that her match against Marketa Vondrousova in the finals was the ‘most painful loss’ of her career. However, Kim Clijsters later on came in to console her for the loss.

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The 4 time Grand Slam champion in singles told her not to worry about the technical side of her game. Instead advised her to focus on the mental aspect of it. Clijsters said Jabeur to show more self-belief even when she’s nervous.

Jabeur recalls the ‘priceless’ moment during her interaction with Clijsters after her Wimbledon loss

Ons Jabeur expressed her admiration for the Belgian legend stating, “I love Kim so much. She’s a great inspiration for me. I grew up watching her a bit. The fact that she takes the time to give me advice and to really hug me, always be there for me, I think it’s priceless.“

Jabeur further added, “Yeah, she was telling me all the time she lost four. That’s why I know the information, otherwise would have been tough.” However, Ons Jabeur is currently having a wonderful time in the Middle East as she reached her first QF of the year at the Abu Dhabi Open.

Jabeur defeated the British rising star, Emma Raducanu by 6-4,6-1 in just 1 hour and 18 minutes. Can the crowd favorite in UAE win the title this time?

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