I first noticed junior prospect Ons Jabeur at last year’s U.S. Open. My notes were: “Small in stature but in the two minutes I watched her, she has a big game, full of flair. She hit three jumpshot backhands in a row, and on the next point tried a volley between her legs. Jabeur won the match 61 62 over Japan’s Risa Ozaki.” She eventually lost in the semis.
This week the diminutive and creative Tunisian is having success in Paris too. She defeated the #1 seen Daria Gavrilova in the quarterfinal, 6-3 in the third set. Last year in Paris, Jabeur and her partner upset the #1 seed in junior girls doubles. Clearly, this crafty player has a world class junior game and if she can make it at the WTA level, I can see her becoming a crowd favorite due to her unique style and colorful shotmaking on the court.
More info about Ons: She is 16 (turns 17 in August), has already won two ITF singles titles and is ranked #746 now. Her ITF singles won-loss record is 22-7.
Ons Jabeur – remember this name.
Jabeur hits the jumpshot backhand
Scoop Malinowski · June 3, 2011 at 2:09 pm
Jabeur defeated Caroline Garcia today in SF 6-2 in the third set. She is in the finals.
Dan Markowitz · June 4, 2011 at 3:28 am
Haven’t seen Jabeur play, but you think Murray was maybe off when he tweeted during Garcia-Sharpova match that Garcia was going to be No. 1 player in future?
Scoop Malinowski · June 4, 2011 at 12:35 pm
Garcia looked like a future star vs. Sharapova, no doubt, who wasn’t impressed by her performance. But she was the big underdog and had nothing to lose. The pressure is totally different in the junior event where she was now expected to win. Jabeur – who ever heard of her? SHe is a fun player to watch and obviously a very good one. That was kind of uncharacteristic of Murray but I think he’s a regular kind of guy, underneath his guard. His tweet showed the fan in him which we rarely see.