Tunisian trailblazer Ons Jabeur can’t wait to be back in the UAE to play in the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open (February 3-11).
The first Arab player to reach a Grand Slam final, Jabeur will lead a strong field featuring 10 of the world’s top 20 women’s singles players in the second edition of the Abu Dhabi tournament, which will begin just after the end of the Australian Open.
Jabeur, a regular at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, says she always enjoys the support from fans in the UAE.
“Honestly, I love playing in the UAE. I love playing in the Middle East, these are the tournaments I look forward to because I connect with the crowd, it feels like home,” Jabeur told the Khaleej Times over Zoom ahead of her first match at the Australian Open.
“Trust me, if there are 500 (premier WTA category) tournaments (in the Middle East) in the year, I would definitely play there every time. I just enjoy myself and enjoy the crowd a lot.”
A knee injury kept Jabeur out of the first edition of the Abu Dhabi Open last year.
“I felt very comfortable when I saw the tournament there (Abu Dhabi) this year, I could not obviously make it last year, so I am very excited about it now,” she said.
Other big names in the Abu Dhabi tournament include Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari, Barbora Krejčíková, Beatriz Haddad Maia, Jeļena Ostapenko and Daria Kasatkina.
“I think it’s one of the toughest tournaments. I am very happy that I could play this year,” Jabeur said.