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Ons Jabeur channeled her inner Cristiano Ronaldo fangirl as the Portuguese star made history in his country's opening match of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Jabeur's passion for football is well known; she frequently talks about the sport and has even displayed some outstanding football skills during her matches.
Portugal began their 2022 FIFA World Cup campaign with a 3-2 win over Ghana yesterday, with Ronaldo scoring the opening goal via the penalty spot in the 65th minute of the match. With this goal, Ronaldo became the first male footballer in history to score in five different FIFA World Cups.
Jabeur shared an image of Ronaldo leaping in the air to win a header on her Instagram stories and captioned it with five heart emojis.
In a BBC Sport column earlier this year, Jabeur revealed her passion for football and her admiration for Ronaldo.
“Football is my other sporting passion and if I wasn't a tennis player then I'm sure I would be a footballer,” said Ons Jabeur.
“I love watching football and I'm a huge Cristiano Ronaldo fan. He's a great athlete and just an inspiration for me,” she added.
Ons Jabeur’s 2022 season
2022 has been an incredible year for Ons Jabeur. She reached her first final of the season in Charleston, where she lost 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 to Belinda Bencic.
The World No. 2 went on to win two titles this year. The first came at the Madrid Open in May, where she defeated Jessica Pegula 7-5, 0-6, 6-2 in the final, and the second came in Berlin in June, where she beat Bencic 6-3, 2-1 (ret.).
Jabeur then reached her maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon, becoming the first Tunisian and North African woman to play in a Major final. She was also the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open Era but lost to Elena Rybakina, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
She followed that up by making the US Open final, where she was defeated by Iga Swiatek, 6-2, 7-6(5). After back-to-back Slam finals, Jabeur rose to No. 2 in the rankings and secured a spot in the WTA Finals for the first time. She concluded her season with an outstanding win-loss record of 47-17.
The Tunisian took to social media to express her feelings about the history-making season and thanked her team and husband for their support.
"What a season it has been, so many emotions, titles, and memories. I was close to make it even bigger, but I know what I have to do to reach higher summits next year!" wrote Ons Jabeur on Instagram.
"I wouldn’t go through this rollercoaster without my team and my family by my side @karim_kamoun @issamtennis @melanie.maillard1. Thank you to my sponsors for the boost throughout the season. Love you guys ❤️ See you soon on the courts!" she added.
