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Ons Jabeur was serenaded by fans as she did her media duties at Wimbledon on Wednesday. Jabeur rallied from a set down – the first she surrendered in the tournament – to beat Marie Bouzkova, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1, and advance to the semifinals of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Her victory gave the Arabs and North Africans their first tennis player, man or woman, to reach the last-four of a Major.
Fans of the Tunisian gathered on the grounds below the balcony, offering a song to the World No. 2 and, incidentally, to Cameron Norrie, who, for his part, is giving British supporters their own reason to celebrate. Norrie also advanced to his maiden Major semis, becoming the fourth British man in the Open Era to do so at Wimbledon.
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Jacquie Beltrao of Sky News posted the video on Twitter, after which Jabeur reposted it with the caption of three Tunisian flags and two heart emojis.
The merriment spilled over on social media as fans encouraged their country's hero.
"The Arab fun and celebrations are coming to tennis. Get ready," one supporter said.
"Yalla Ons. This is your year. You'd be the new Wimbledon queen on 9th July insha Allah," another fan posted.
"Typical Tunisians. Best of luck, Ons. We're so proud of you," a fan said.
"I was talking to Hicham Arazi & he told me, ‘Arabs always lose in the quarterfinals and we're sick of it. Please break this’" - Ons Jabeur
Ons Jabeur wrote her name in the history books as the first Arab and North African player to reach the semifinals of a Major.
Jabeur has set a number of records for her nation in recent years – she is the first Arab to win a WTA title (Birmingham in June 2021), the first Arab to break into the top 10 (October 2021) of either the ATP or WTA rankings, and also the first Arab woman to reach the quarterfinals of a Major (2020 Australian Open).
But just like other Arabs and North Africans before her, she could not get past the last-eight of a Grand Slam in her first two tries: she bowed down to eventual champion Sofia Kenin at the 2020 Australian Open and fell to Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon last year.
This time around though, Jabeur, now ranked second next to record-setting Pole Iga Swiatek, got over the hump after getting a pep talk from former World No. 22 and four-time Major quarterfinalist Hicham Arazi. Arazi hails from the North African country of Morocco.
"I was talking to Hicham Arazi & he told me, ‘Arabs always lose in the quarterfinals and we're sick of it. Please break this’. I was like, ‘I'll try, my friend, don't put this in my head,'" said Ons Jabeur in a tweet by journalist Reem Abulleil.
“We (Hicham Arazi and I) were just texting, and he was really happy. He was, like, ‘Thank you for finally making the semi-final. Now you can really go and get the title,'" Jabeur added.
Jabeur will next face mum-of-two Tatjana Maria, who is trying to write her own personal history as the 34-year-old German became the oldest first-time Grand Slam semifinalist in the Open Era in her 35th try.
