Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur has landed in Tokyo as she looks to continue a successful season that has seen her become the first Arab woman to win a Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) title and reach the last 16 at Wimbledon by winning an Olympic medal.
Jabeur departed Carthage International Airport on Monday with her husband and personal trainer Karim Kamoun and coach Essam Jalali and will now begin preparation for the Olympic tennis tournament, which starts on July 24.
There is a strong belief in the 26-year-old’s camp that a podium finish is achievable after a remarkable year so far.
Jabeur’s historic Wimbledon campaign saw her reach the women’s quarterfinals after beating Poland’s 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 in the fourth round.
Earlier, Jabeur had become the first Arab woman to reach the third round at Wimbledon by knocking out five-time champion and tennis legend Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0 in 80 minutes.
The Tunisian’s Wimbledon journey finally came to an end when she lost 6-4, 6-3 in the last eight to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
Jabeur seemed to foreshadow what was to come in 2021 when she reached the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in January 2020, before the pandemic disrupted her progress.
This year, she made history by becoming the first Arab player to win a WTA tournament when she beat Russian Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 6-4 to win the 2021 Viking Classic Birmingham ahead of Wimbledon.
