It has been an incredible season for Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur on the WTA tour as she managed to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon Championships and won the Birmingham Classic title. Throughout the year, Jabeur has been consistent and frequently made it to the pre-quarters and semis at several events.

Jabeur had suffered an unexpected injury at WTA Kremlin Cup

As a result, the Tunisian player was almost guaranteed a spot at the year-end finals in Guadalajara, Mexico. But, an unfortunate injury during her opening round matchup at the Kremlin Cup turned things around for her.

Jabeur, who was slightly leading ahead of Anett Kontaveit had to withdraw from the contest against Ekaterina Alexandrova in Moscow due to an elbow injury. As she couldn’t compete the event, Kontaveit seized the opportunity and went on to win the Kremlin Cup.

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Not just the title in Moscow, the Estonian backed up her performance from Russian with an equally dominating run at Cluj-Napoca which witnessed her thrash Simona Halep in straight sets in the final. It was Kontaveit’s first victory over the Romanian.

With this title, Anett Kontaveit sealed the eighth spot for WTA Finals in Guadalajara. Throughout the tussle between Jabeur and Kontaveit, the former has posted hilarious tweets over their battle as she finds the Estonian to be a good friend.

Ons Jabeur and Anett Kontaveit share good friendship on the women’s rooster

Post Kontaveit’s victory over Halep in Cluj-Napoca, Jabeur posted a photo of hers with Kontaveit and wrote, “Meanwhile in my head”. 

During the trophy ceremony at the WTA Transylvania Open, Kontaveit apologized to Jabeur for having sealed the final spot at the year-end championships. To this, the Tunisian wrote, “Apology accepted but see you in Guadalajara. I will be going as an alternate”. 

It’s heartening to see two players having a fun banter off the court and building their friendship in a sport that forces individuals to become extremely selfish and self-centered.

Right from the start of the year, Jabeur managed to win hearts of tennis fans for not just her playing style but also because of her conduct with other players on the circuit.

As the Tunisian awaits more success on the 2022 season, she will be a top contender for the WTA Sportsmanship award this year, an honor that was won eight times by two-time Wimbledon Champion, Petra Kvitova.

Also read: Ons Jabeur Reacts to Squid Game Meme Depicting WTA Finals’ Last Spot Battle