When in Rome, do as the Romans do, but when in Germany, you have to speak the language too! WTA stars are in the grey city for the German Open, and what did they do when they had a little free time? They tried to speak German, and it seems some of them royally struggled with the task.

Ons Jabeur, Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff, Naomi Osaka, etc were seen in the video posted by WTA on YouTube. And the first word they had to say was ‘Berlin’. But oh boy, that was just the start. What was to come later only ended in loads of laughter. 

Next was ‘Frankfurt’. Not too much of a hassle. However, Jabeur became competitive with Sabalenka and stated, “As long as I beat Aryna, that is the most important thing for me,” while the latter responded, “Okay, here we are…”

Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Jessica Pegula, and Naomi Osaka were too engrossed in the challenge to notice the competition brewing between Jabeur and Sabalenka. A few words later, as everyone attempted to say ‘Katzenelnbogen’, Sabalenka admitted, “I’m terrible at English like, and they want me to speak German, come on.” Jabeur peeked into the frame to poke fun at Sabalenka, saying, “I can confirm that.”

While the former Wimbledon finalist was busy pulling the leg of a good friend, she easily beat Gauff and Osaka as they both struggled to get the names correctly.

Though Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa are regarded as “soulmates,” they welcomed Ons Jabeur as a new member of their group earlier this year. The close-knit ties between these players were further enhanced after they gave a fresh update on their “best friend” dynamic piqued fans’ interest and it was refreshing to see the WTA stars enjoy some time off the court.

At the same time, while Sabalenka was away, Ons Jabeur declared that her new best friend on tour was Paula Badosa. As soon as Jabeur’s comments on Badosa went live, she immediately began a contest with the Australian Open champion for the Spaniard.

Rivalry to friendship? When Jabeur stole Sabalenka’s friend…

Ons Jabeur and Paula Badosa were seen conversing on camera during a practice session break at the Italian Open. With a laugh, Jabeur said, gesturing to herself, “Best friend on tour.” Their humorous exchange kicked off a competition between Sabalenka and Jabeur to see who was closer to Badosa. When the dust eventually settled, the duo ended up becoming a trio.

The Spaniard shared a picture with the Belarusian player and the Tunisian player as they stood on either side of her. She captioned it, “Friendship,” followed by a couple of heart emojis, signifying their newfound love for each other and the fun they had with laughing emojis. In fact, the trio also followed in line as they withdrew from the Paris Olympics.

While Sabalenka wanted to protect her body from the sudden changes the Olympics would bring, Jabeur too had a similar reason. “After consulting with my medical team regarding attending the Olympics in Paris, we have decided that the quick change of surface and the body’s adaptation required would put my knee at risk and jeopardize the rest of my season,” the latter shared on X.

They seem to be in tune, and Sabalenka and Jabeur seem to be alive in the competitiveness. Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Jabeur and Sabalenka’s equation? Let us know in the comments below!