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Ons Jabeur's title run at the 2023 Charleston Open was recently lauded by her husband Karim Kamoun, who highlighted the tennis star's "perseverance, patience and hard work."
Jabeur, who struggled with injuries earlier this season, came good on the green clay at Charleston. She won five matches without dropping a set to register her first title of the year.
Kamoun, who also serves as the fitness trainer for his wife, congratulated the WTA World No. 4 while urging her to keep up the good work via a social media post.
"Perseverance, patience, and hard work. Congratulations Ons Jabeur, keep up the hard work," he captioned a post on Instagram.
A professional fencer of repute who has represented his country internationally, Karim Kumoun also holds a degree in sports science. He became Jabeur's fitness coach in 2017.
Having reportedly started dating in 2013, the couple have been married since 2015. Kumoun, who is of Russian-Tunisian descent, travels on tour with his wife a fair bit.
Jabeur was put to the test by Belinda Bencic in the Charleston final. The Swiss player showed little signs of fatigue despite the fact that her rain-interrupted semifinal against Daria Kasatkina extended into Sunday.
But Ons Jabeur, who had lost to the same opponent in the final last year, managed to flip the script this time. She beat the defending champion 7-6 (6), 6-4 in the summit clash.
Jabeur created history last year by becoming the first Arab woman to make it to a Grand Slam final (Wimbledon and the US Open). She also became the first Arab woman to win a WTA 1000 event, the Madrid Open.
Tracing Ons Jabeur's journey in Charleston
Ons Jabeur has performed remarkably well in Charleston. Back in 2021, Jabeur made it to the semifinals of the Charleston Open after getting past Coco Gauff in the quarterfinals. A straight-sets loss to Danka Kovinic ended her encouraging run, but she did also advance to the finals of the WTA 250 MUSC Health Open in Charleston later that year.
The Sousse-born player came from a set down to defeat Amanda Anisimova in the semifinals of the Charleston Open last year. But Belinda Bencic proved too tough an obstacle in the final.
Bencic won the first set and Jabeur won the second, before the Swiss triumphed in the decider to eventually win the match 6-1, 5-7, 6-4.
A year later, on Sunday, the two players found themselves facing each other in the final once again. This time, however, some brilliant shots at crucial moments helped Jabeur tilt the scales against Bencic and clinch the Charleston Open title.
The win assumes greater significance for Jabeur in light of the knee surgery that forced her to miss tournaments in Dubai and Doha earlier this year.
