Ons Jabeur is much more than a tennis star. She has not only managed to put Tunisia on the map of the tennis world but also shattered stereotypes by inspiring several North African and Arab women through her relentless pursuit of excellence through sport. However, other than being one of the most decorated Arab and African tennis players in history, Jabeur is also known for her genuine and positive interactions with fans. In fact, she is also described as the ‘Minister of Happiness’ by some due to her ability to bring joy and hope to her supporters. Fans naturally get connected with her pretty easily due to her open and friendly personality. “As long as I put a smile on my face [and] really laugh with the crowd, and enjoy playing on the court, that’s what I play the best,” she once said. Recently, the 30-year-old Tunisian tennis star was spotted bringing a broad smile to the face of a fan at the Italian Open through a beautiful gesture.

What did she do to make the day for that girl? Recently, the WTA and the Italian Open shared a video clip on their IG handles with the caption, “When dreams become reality 🥹.” The video clip captured a beautiful moment where Ons Jabeur was spotted interacting with one of her fans. Jabeur said, “So this beautiful girl reached out on Twitter, and to meet her, we wanted to surprise her with the WTA and the Tournament. Let’s see how it goes…“

Then, after that, she went towards a girl who was standing in the middle of a large crowd, wearing a T-shirt with Jabeur’s face printed all over it. After meeting the girl, Jabeur asked her, “How are you?“, and then the conversation went on, with the girl asking her if she liked the T-shirt. In reply, the tennis star said, “I love it. You wanna see my faces?” Jabeur even handed her a T-shirt, saying, “That’s for you. Sorry, my Italian is not that good.” The fan then replied, “My English is not too good.” Hearing this, Jabeur added, “So we speak Italian/Arabic.” Later on, Jabeur even gave an autograph on that T-shirt, which she gifted her, and said, “Thank you for coming. It’s so cute, thank you. Nice to meet you.“

According to Jabeur, the connection with the crowd is “very important” to her because “the energy that they give me on the court, it is very important.” How does she want her fans to remember her, “I really want people to remember me as a fun character. I like to put a smile on people’s faces. A smile can change someone’s day. I think that’s more important than hitting a ball or winning a match.” 

Interestingly, not only her fans, but even her peers have time and again highlighted her fun-loving nature and how she has this unique ability to win hearts so easily. For example, Naomi Osaka once said, “She’s probably the nicest person I’ve ever met on tour. I’ll always have so much love in my heart for her. I think she just is the type that always wants to make sure everyone else is okay.” Even Marta Kostyuk once claimed, “She’s (Jabeur) really a nice person.” According to Victoria Azarenka, Jabeur is someone who always loves interacting with kids, “she’s very funny.“

Her peers say, Ons Jabeur always loves staying true to herself and makes efforts to make people around her happy. ‘Minister of Happiness’? Well, rightly said! But can she bring some more smiles to the faces of her Italian fans by getting a winning start at the Italian Open?

Ons Jabeur is all set to start her Italian Open campaign against a two-time Grand Slam champion

Two-time Wimbledon champion (2011,2014), Petra Kvitova, recently won her first match since the birth of her first child. She defeated Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu in the first round of the Italian Open by 7-5,6-1. There was a time when she had few doubts in her mind about whether she’d ever manage to make a comeback. Speaking more on that, she added, “I was 95% that I would never come back. I had enough of tennis at that time. I was like, ‘I can’t do it any more‘ – so we decided to try for a baby. I didn’t say anything because it wasn’t 100%. When I could do something finally after pregnancy, I played some tennis and it felt so good. I was laughing. Every shot I hit smoothly, I was like, ‘Wow – it’s still there.“

Next up for her is the former world number 2, Ons Jabeur, who has reached the final of the Grand Slam events thrice in her career. Last year, in August, Jabeur was forced to bring an abrupt end to her 2024 season due to a shoulder injury. In November 2024, the Tunisian star came up with a statement showcasing her intentions to get back to winning ways in the next season. She said, “I’m ready and very motivated and honestly hungry to play matches. I feel 2025 is going to be an amazing year.“

Although she reached three QFs since her return this season, Jabeur’s campaign yet again got derailed due to an injury at the Miami Open. After that, she didn’t have a great outing at the Madrid Open, but now perhaps she has a chance to get back to her winning ways in Rome. Talking about her unfinished business on the court, Jabeur recently said, “Tennis players, we are greedy. We always want more and more and more. I’m trying to remind myself every day that what I did is unbelievable. I still think there’s something missing. I’m waiting for the right moment to click, and I feel it in my soul that it’s coming.“

Ons Jabeur currently trails Petra Kvitova in the H2H record by 2-4. Do you think she can pull up a victory in their seventh meeting, which is also going to be their first on clay?