Sharing the court with the ‘Queen of the Court‘ is a dream come true moment for all the tennis players. Well, the ‘Minister of Happiness’ couldn’t be happier when she got the chance to play with Serena Williams in a doubles event at the Eastbourne International, just before the Wimbledon Championships in 2022. Both of them teamed up really well in that tournament but unfortunately, an injury to Jabeur on her right knee brought an abrupt end to their campaign as they were forced to withdraw from their SF match. However, Ons Jabeur believes that was an “unbelievable” moment in her career to play with Serena Williams.

She has watched her break records during her childhood days and she feels lucky enough to play doubles with the person she idolized while growing up. But there were nervous moments too! During an interview with The Athletic, Ons Jabeur spoke about her experience of playing with Serena Williams. She said “It was unbelievable — I felt so good but nervous at the same time. But she made me feel so comfortable on the court.“

Jabeur spoke about how Serena Williams encouraged her during the game and appreciated her choice of serve. But did the Tunisian tennis star observe anything in how the ‘Queen of the Court’ played or prepared? Jabeur replied, “Something I noticed was that, if she decides she’s going to do something, she will go for it. She decides she will ace on the T, she’ll do it. I’ve tried that and it didn’t work very well (laughs).“

During a brief interaction with Serena Williams, Ons Jabeur extended an invitation to her to visit Tunisia. She also mentioned that she had already made a similar offer to Venus Williams as well. Williams had then jokingly warned the Tunisian tennis star to be careful since she intended to take her up on the offer. But Jabeur still can’t figure out why Serena Williams chose her among all the other tennis players as her doubles partner.

“It’s crazy” – Ons Jabeur on getting picked as Serena Williams’ doubles partner

Serena Williams was making a return to the court after nearly a year-long injury layoff. She invited Ons Jabeur to team up for the doubles at Eastbourne International. Recalling this moment Jabeur once said, “It’s crazy, you know. Why me from all the players? She chose a girl from Tunisia. Her story’s really inspiring. She gave a lot of women a voice. To be able to play next to her pushes me to do better and maybe tell my own story.” 

She related this moment to winning a Grand Slam title. Ons Jabeur was a bit stressed and didn’t want to miss any ball while playing with Serena Williams. But she portrayed this moment, “It’s like winning a Grand Slam for me, you know.” Serena Williams and Ons Jabeur were recently spotted together at the 2024 Miami Open. The Tunisian even shared a clip capturing that moment on her Instagram stories and captioned it with two ‘heart’ emojis. Share your thoughts on this doubles partnership.