By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Monday July 10, 2023
The Tunisian was the WTA's No.2 last year before injuries struck. She's been an afterthought as talk of a Big Three has dominated WTA conversation in 2023.
Photo Source: Rob Newell/Getty
In 2023 there has been a lot of talk about women’s tennis developing a new “Big Three” consisting of the last three Grand Slam winners, World No.1 Iga Swiatek, World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka and World No.3 Elena Rybakina.
It’s a legitimate tack to take. Swiatek, Sabalenka and Rybakina have earned high marks since Ash Barty retired from the sport in March of 2022, winning the five Grand Slams on offer.
But the notion that the three players are equal doesn’t cut it for the moment. First, Swiatek has four majors, including three of the last five, while Sabalenka have one each. Second, we’re forgetting about a player who was very much on the ascent at the end of 2022: Ons Jabeur.
Before the Big Three talk came to the women’s tennis space, Jabeur was the No.2, reaching back-to-back Slam finals as she knocked on the door in her quest to become the first Arab and Tunisian Grand Slam champion in history.
On Wednesday at Wimbledon, the 28-year-old Jabeur has a chance to make her case for a “Big Four.”
Last year in the Wimbledon final it was icy cool Rybakina who rallied from a set down to steal Jabeur’s thunder at Wimbledon in a loss that left Jabeur saddened – even stunned – but not deterred.
“I know that I'm going to come back and win a Grand Slam, for sure,” Jabeur said at the time. “This is tennis, and it's part of it. I have to learn from it, definitely. But I'm very, very positive about it.”
Two months later, she came within a match of achieving her Grand Slam dream at the 2022 US Open, but fell to Iga Swiatek in a tight two-setter.
“It's part of the process,” she told reporters in the press room at Flushing Meadows, trying hard to smile after another devastating defeat. “You know, we'll go for the third time hopefully – I'm going to keep my hopes up. I know there is a lot of many finals coming for me.”
After shellacking two-time champion Petra Kvitova 6-0, 6-3 on Sunday, Jabeur is bidding for bragging rights in the absolutely brutal quarter of the draw that also featured Beatriz Haddad Maia, Jelena Ostapenko, Karolina Pliskova and other talented dark horse candidates.
Perhaps that final she alluded to in New York could come again at Wimbledon?
That she’s made it this far, shouldn’t come as a surprise. Jabeur’s talent hasn’t disappeared since last year; instead she has battled injuries and been slow to find her form this season. The Tunisian wasn’t quite ready to make an impact at Roland-Garros, where she fell in the quarterfinals to Haddad Maia, but she may be ready at Wimbledon, where her cagey, slice-happy game can befuddle the best on Wimbledon’s low-bouncing grass courts.
Jabeur is well aware that the cat could be very much out of the bag when it comes to Rybakina. Not including the Tunisian in recurring discussions of the WTA’s top tier talent is one thing, but to neglect the obvious abilities of the imposing Kazakh would be downright crazy.
The Moscow-born powerhouse is 37-8 on the season with a runner up performance at the Australian Open, eye-catching titles at Indian Wells and Rome, and a trio of jaw-dropping victories over Iga Swiatek, at the Aussie Open, Indian Wells and Rome.
Jabeur has a big hurdle in front of her, and to get over it she’ll have to play the underdog role perfectly.
“She’s like BOOM! BOOM! all the time – no mercy with her,” Jabeur said of Rybakina’s daunting power game, which is even more lethal on the grass.
“It will be a difficult match,” added Jabeur, who squandered a set lead in last year’s final against Rybakina before losing 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. “I’m probably going for my revenge. It was a difficult final last year and it’s going to bring a lot of memories. I’m hoping to play like today and get the win, because she’s an amazing player.”