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Ons Jabeur’s run to the Wimbledon final is expected to inspire a new generation of African tennis players, says the continent’s head of the sport.
Jabeur has had a stellar rise over the past year, having moved up to number two in the WTA rankings to make her the highest-ever ranked African singles player (male or female).
“All of us in African tennis are very excited to see the results of Ons Jabeur,” Hichem Riani, the chief executive of the Confederation of African Tennis, told BBC Sport Africa.
“Ons is actually a social phenomenon in Tunisia. Everybody’s talking about her and she has a lot of confidence now.
“We all belong to one continent, and we are excited because it’s amazing to see her on this stage. Africa is the future of tennis, of sports, of everything.”
Jabeur, the third seed at Wimbledon, is well aware of being a trailblazer for players across the continent.
“I’m a proud Tunisian woman and I know in Tunisia they are going crazy right now,” she said after her semi-final win over Tatjana Maria on Thursday.
“I try to inspire as much as I can and I want to see more Arab and African players on the tour.”
Jabeur has won three career singles titles – including in Madrid and Berlin this year – and Cara Black, a 10-time Grand Slam champion across women’s and mixed doubles, has backed her to deal with the added pressure her success has brought.
“[With] all the experience she’s been accumulating over the last few months – and couple of years – I think she’s really grown in that aspect,” Zimbabwean Black told the BBC World Service.
“She’s got better belief in herself and I think that working with a psychologist has made that big difference.
“Africa is known as the continent with not as much opportunity as the rest of the world, but I think the opportunities are there. You have just got to look for them, seek them and try to take them when you can.”
The next step, of course, is for Africa to have a women’s singles Grand Slam champion – something Jabeur has turned from a distant hope to a distinct possibility.
“To have one African winner of a Grand Slam tournament is a dream [which is] becoming step by step a reality,”…
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