Ons Jabeur returns from injury seeking elusive top form

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Updated 25 April 2025
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Ons Jabeur returns from injury seeking elusive top form

  • Jabeur tells Arab News she is ‘glad’ to have taken time to heal
  • Tunisian is playing at the Madrid Open, which she won in 2022

MADRID: There is a quote from the animated movie “Ratatouille” that Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur loves.

The character, chef Auguste Gusteau, says: “You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work.

“And you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul.”

As the highest-ranked African and Arab player in tennis history, Jabeur has certainly never let where she comes from define her limits.

“I love that quote because it connects believing with not giving up.

“‘The only limit is your soul,’ that’s what he says. And honestly that touched me. I love it,” the three-time Grand Slam finalist told Arab News on the sidelines of the ongoing Madrid Open.

Jabeur is a former champion in Madrid. When she clinched the title in 2022, she became the first Arab and African woman to win a WTA 1000 title.

In the weeks that followed, she reached the final in Rome, won Berlin, rose to a career-high ranking of No. 2 in the world and made it to the Wimbledon final.

The 30-year-old’s journey is a series of history-making feats.

And as someone who has inspired millions across the globe, it was particularly meaningful to her when she met another Arab icon on the eve of the Madrid Open this week.

At the players’ restaurant at the Caja Magica, Jabeur and members of her team were spotted dining with none other than Morocco’s Nawal El-Moutawakel.

The Moroccan athlete won the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, to become the first African and Arab woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

Jabeur was thrilled to meet El-Moutawakel for the first time. “She’s amazing,” said Jabeur, who is a three-time Olympian.

“It was such an honor for me to know her personally and to know her stories. She’s so fun, her energy is amazing. And honestly, it makes me feel like a proud Arab woman to meet an Arab icon like that.”

Jabeur has spent the past month on the sidelines recovering from a calf injury she sustained during her third-round clash with Jasmine Paolini at the Miami Open.

She returns to action on Friday in the Spanish capital, where she is due to face Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the second round.

“I’m feeling much better. I took my time. I’m glad I took some time off. I took a lot of time to do rehab. And now I’m feeling, let’s put it, 90 percent good,” the Tunisian said ahead of her Madrid opener.

“I spent two weeks (at home in Tunis). I also went to travel a little bit to just enjoy time in France and see my family. But yeah, it’s been so good to be home. I’m starting to like it, which is not a good sign,” she added with a laugh.

“But yeah, really, this year, I just want to listen to my body. I’m done forcing my body to play any tournaments that I don’t feel like playing and just try to enjoy my time as much as I can.”

Jabeur has had bad luck with injuries as of late. She had to shut down her season in early August last year, missing the US Open, due to a shoulder problem, and came back at the start of 2025 in Australia ranked 42 in the world.

Now back in the top 30, Jabeur is pacing herself as she searches for her best form, and says she has been trying to see the positive side of her recent injury hiatuses.

“Sometimes I try to see the good in it. When I get injured, I have so much time at home, which is good, it’s nice. But yeah, I get a little bit tired of coming back to the tournaments, actually.

“But I think, I’m just taking it slow and let’s see what the future holds,” she said.

Whether she is in peak form, or returning from an injury layoff, Jabeur continues to be a positive presence on the tennis tour.

A popular figure among her peers, Jabeur shows up to work every day with a big smile on her face, spreading good vibes on and off the court.

After over a decade on the circuit, what keeps Jabeur eager to wake up in the morning and pick up a tennis racket?

“I have an amazing team, really, with me,” replied the three-time Grand Slam finalist.

“Karim (Kamoun), my husband, my fitness coach, Issam (Jellali), my coach. Now I have my mental coach, Melanie (Maillard), with me. I feel like the discussion around it, everything around it, setting up my goals with them, it’s very important.

And I know that I have an option, if I don’t want to go on court, I would not.

“Maybe before it was a bit difficult. But now I always try to find the motivation. I try to always laugh as well. That helps me a lot to be who I am and not be surrounded by losing or winning and all of that.

“I believe that tennis is always a happy place for me. If one day it’s not, then there is actually a problem. For now, I’m enjoying it, so it’s good.”

Jabeur has been working with her psychologist Maillard since 2017 and the Frenchwoman travels with her to a few tournaments every year.

Psychology is a subject Jabeur is particularly interested in, and she has boundless curiosity, not just to better understand herself, but others around her as well.

“That’s why I honestly have no hate for no player, because everybody is coming from a different background. Everybody has their own hurt. And I don’t know what they have been through.

“So I really try not to judge,” she added.

“Melanie helps me with the stress before the matches, anxiety, everything around. Understand the player that I am, understand my worth.

“Because I’ve seen so many successful human beings, not only tennis players, but there’s always that insecurities like, am I good enough? Am I going to make it, you know?

“And it’s fascinating that no matter how big the result is, we can doubt ourselves a lot.”


Djokovic thumps Kecmanovic for Wimbledon ton and spot in last 16

Updated 05 July 2025
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Djokovic thumps Kecmanovic for Wimbledon ton and spot in last 16

The sixth seed’s stellar display ensured that he became only the third player to claim 100 match wins
“I’m very grateful, obviously, privileged to be in the position that I am,” Djokovic said

LONDON: Seven-times Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic roared his way to a rare century at the grasscourt Grand Slam on Saturday when he outclassed Serbian compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3 6-0 6-4 and reached the fourth round in his quest for a record 25th major.

The sixth seed’s stellar display ensured that he became only the third player to claim 100 match wins on the All England Club lawns after nine-times champion Martina Navratilova and eight-times winner Roger Federer.

“It’s very historic. It sounds very nice. I’m very grateful, obviously, privileged to be in the position that I am,” the 38-year-old Djokovic said.

“I’ve said it many times. Tennis made me who I am, has given me incredible things in life that I can experience. I try not to take anything for granted, particularly at this age, still going strong, still trying to compete with the young players.

“Wimbledon is a favorite and a dream tournament for not just myself, but probably the majority of players. Growing up, most of the kids dream of playing here and winning here.

“I’ve been blessed to do it multiple times. Any history that I make in my favorite tournament, I’m blessed.”

Djokovic started and finished the opening set with aces and grabbed the decisive break during the see-sawing eighth game. At one point he had the Center Court crowd standing in ovation when he produced a spectacular diving winner at the net.

His 49th-ranked Davis Cup teammate cracked on serve in the opening game of the second set and allowed Djokovic to quickly reel off the games and double his advantage in what suddenly became a lopsided contest.

Kecmanovic raised his fist to applause when he stemmed the flow at the start of the third set but a double fault gifted his opponent the break in the third game and Djokovic overcame a slight wobble at the end to prevail.

“I have enjoyed myself very much except maybe the last couple of games,” added Djokovic, who will take on Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur for a place in the quarter-finals.

“A bit of tension in the end, I was 5-1 up and 15-30 and then 5-4, 15-30. Things got a bit complicated... It’s never easy playing a friend and compatriot. Miomir is a super nice guy, someone that I have known for many years.

“We’ve faced each other on different surfaces, different courts. But more than rivals and competitors, we’re friends and teammates. I wish him all the very best.”

Paris Saint-Germain shut down Bayern Munich, reach CWC semis

Updated 05 July 2025
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Paris Saint-Germain shut down Bayern Munich, reach CWC semis

  • PSG played the closing minutes with just nine players after a pair of red cards
  • Bayern exits the tournament after being held scoreless for the first time

ATLANTA: Desire Doué scored in the 78th minute, Ousmane Dembele added a second in stoppage time and Paris Saint-Germain sealed their place in the FIFA Club World Cup semifinals with a 2-0 quarterfinal win over Bayern Munich on Saturday in Atlanta.

Pairs Saint-Germain played the closing minutes with just nine players after a pair of red cards and still added a goal to seal the victory.

Referee Anthony Taylor dismissed Willian Pacho in the 82nd minute for his dangerous challenge on Bayern’s Thomas Muller, and sent off Lucas Hernandez in the second minute of second-half stoppage time for an elbow in the direction of Raphael Guerreiro.

But Doue and Dembele’s first goals of the tournament were enough to seal a meeting in East Rutherford, N.J., on Wednesday with the winner of Saturday’s second semifinal between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

Gianluigi Donnarumma made five saves to keep PSG’s fourth clean sheet of the tournament.

Bayern exits the tournament after being held scoreless for the first time, on a day when they lost Josip Stanisic and Jamal Musiala to first-half injuries.

It was still 11-on-11 when Doue took Joao Neves’ pass, created some space near the edge of the penalty area, then unleashed a left-footed strike that found the bottom right corner as Bayern goalkeeper Manuel Neuer slipped while trying to change direction.

Dembele doubled the advantage on a stunning foray forward despite the numerical disadvantage and some brilliant setup work by Achraf Hakimi, who beat three defenders off the dribble.

Hakimi then fed Dembele in stride for a first-time low finish that left Neuer little chance.

Bayern thought they had a chance to pull a late goal back when Taylor whistled for a penalty even later in stoppage time, only to reverse his decision following a video review.

Musiala departed on a stretcher at halftime after suffering a gruesome ankle injury following a tangle for the ball with Donnarumma that did not show any signs of ill intent.

Even Donnaruma was distraught after seeing the extent of Musiala’s injury, which came in the final seconds of the first half.

Twelve minutes earlier, Stanisic exited with an apparent hamstring injury.

Donnaruma made a pair of exceptional first-half saves.

In the 27th minute, he sprung to his right to parry Michael Olize’s goal-bound effort from just beyond the corner of the 6-yard box. In the 41st, he sprawled the opposite direction to keep Aleksandar Pavlovic’s effort — an intended early cross that was inches in front of Musiala near the penalty spot — from bounding inside the right post.

Neuer was also called into action during the first half, thwarting Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s effort from close range at the near post with an outstretched arm in the 32nd minute.

Four minutes into the second half, he dove left to deny Bradley Barcola on the break.


Philipsen wins nervy Tour de France opener as Evenepoel loses time

Updated 05 July 2025
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Philipsen wins nervy Tour de France opener as Evenepoel loses time

  • Philipsen took the yellow jersey in a frantic sprint finish at the northern city of Lille
  • Race favorites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard both finished safely in the lead pack on a day marred by a series of falls

LILLE, France: There were mixed fortunes for the thousands of Belgian fans who poured over the border for the opening stage of the Tour de France on Saturday as Jasper Philipsen won, but star rider Remco Evenepoel lost valuable time.

Philipsen took the yellow jersey in a frantic sprint finish at the northern city of Lille, while double Olympic champion Evenepoel was trapped in a second group and lost 39 seconds.

Race favorites Tadej Pogacar and Jonas Vingegaard both finished safely in the lead pack on a day marred by a series of falls.

Even defending champion Pogacar appeared flustered at the finish line.

“It was as frantic as we had expected, but when the split came fortunately I was near the front,” said the 26-year-old Slovenian.

“I’m just happy day one is done. Nine days to go before the first rest day.”

Africa’s sole rider Biniam Girmay, winner of three stages in 2024, was second on the day as Philipsen got ahead of him with 100m to go.

“It’s a day I will never forget. This is why I have been getting up early and training hard each day,” said Philipsen after notching up a 10th career stage win on the Tour.

His Alpecin team, marshalled by Mathieu van der Poel, formed an old-school sprint train that the winner hailed.

“What an experience! Those final kilometers, to be part of that,” beamed Philipsen.

Around 40 riders in the first group contested the sprint where one of the day’s many falls happened.

Primoz Roglic of Red Bull and Team UAE’s Joao Almeida were also caught in the surprise split in blustery winds.

Fans packed the route in one of France’s more modest regions passing First World War memorials, red-brick houses and slagheaps from long-closed coal mines along the Belgian border.

Under overcast skies with the temperature a manageable 22C, the peloton cut a fast pace despite the windy conditions, but no rain fell until the riders had passed the finish line.

Racing toward an intermediate sprint over cobbles, escapee Benjamin Thomas slid sideways and took out his sole rival Matteo Vercher in one spectacular fall and the pair were still bickering when the peloton shot past them.

Former time-trial world champion Filippo Ganna was one rider who will take no further part after a clumsy fall on a corner.

The Italian would have been a contender on the lengthy stage 5 individual time-trial, as well as key in the Ineos team’s campaign to get veteran Geraint Thomas into the top 10 on his 14th and final Tour de France.

Philipsen, in yellow, will lead the peloton out for Sunday’s second stage, a hilly 209km route to the beaches of Boulogne-sur-mer.


Shining Verstappen shades Piastri for pole at Silverstone

Updated 05 July 2025
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Shining Verstappen shades Piastri for pole at Silverstone

  • The Monegasque driver was quickest in one minute and 25.498 seconds to outpace Piastri
  • Verstappen was third for Red Bull ahead of Lando Norris in the second McLaren

SILVERSTONE, UK: Max Verstappen produced one of the finest and fastest qualifying laps of his career on Saturday to seize pole position for Sunday’s British Grand Prix and demonstrate why he is the hottest property in Formula One.
The four-time world champion was struggling with a strong wind and cool and damp conditions after choosing a low downforce set-up that trimmed his wings but enabled higher speed on the straights.
Before his final run of a tense and closely-fought qualifying hour, Verstappen was two-tenths slower than McLaren’s championship leader Oscar Piastri, but the Dutchman powered to a fastest lap of one minute and 24.892 seconds to beat the Australian by 0.103 seconds.
“You went motor racing Max!” said his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase, his deadpan delivery hiding Red Bull’s delight as the team fight to find the performance that will ensure their star driver stays with them next year.
The 27-year-old Dutchman, who has declared he wants to stay, has been linked with Mercedes, whose team boss Toto Wolff has confirmed making contact. Unconfirmed Italian media reports this week claimed Verstappen had agreed to the move.
Verstappen did his talking on the track, claiming his third pole at Silverstone and the 44th of the career with a virtuoso lap to keep alive faint hopes of defending his drivers’ title in the second half of the season.
Weather permitting, a third British victory would help him trim his 61-point deficit to Piastri but if it rains, as forecast, Verstappen’s set-up might leave him vulnerable to his rivals including Lando Norris, in the second McLaren, who is 15 points behind Piastri in the title race and third on the grid.
“The changes helped a lot and the car definitely turned in better,” said Verstappen. “On my last lap, it all came together and the balance was much better and we were fast on the straights, but the high-speed corners were more difficult.
“We are pushing for more performance. It was tricky out there with the wind as the car is so sensitive to it. We have to wait to see what tomorrow will do and if there’s rain around or not.
“I’m happy with qualifying. It’s a big boost for the team as well and I’m excited to go racing tomorrow. We’ll try! We are going to have fun and try to do the best we can.”
Piastri was less happy.
“I was trying to think of how I was going to go faster and I didn’t,” he said. “The last lap was a little bit messy, but it’s been tight all weekend.
“I think my first lap was very good...but I left a little bit on the table.”
“It’s tough, especially when you think it’s a good lap. You don’t want to overdo it and try and go over the limit. There were a couple of corners where maybe I was a bit safe on the way in and tried to make up for it on the way out and it didn’t quite work.”
Norris was third in the second McLaren, a tenth adrift.
“It was tough,” Norris said. “We are not just fast enough today, but it’s all good fun and I am happy with third. Credit to Max, he did a great job. It’s going to be fun tomorrow, a good battle.”
George Russell was next in a Mercedes. The Ferraris of seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc filled the third row.
Kimi Antonelli was seventh fastest in the second Mercedes but suffered a three-place penalty.
Ollie Bearman was eighth for Haas but collected a 10-place grid penalty.


Sinner demolishes Martinez to reach Wimbledon last-16

Updated 05 July 2025
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Sinner demolishes Martinez to reach Wimbledon last-16

  • “Obviously very happy but I think we all saw that he was struggling with his shoulder,” said Sinner
  • The Italian said his first week at Wimbledon “couldn’t have gone better“

LONDON: Imperious Wimbledon top seed Jannik Sinner made short work of Spain’s Pedro Martinez on Saturday to reach the the last 16 without dropping a set.

The Italian three-time Grand Slam champion eased past his 52nd-ranked opponent, who was struggling with a shoulder problem, 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 in less than two hours.

“Obviously very happy but I think we all saw that he was struggling with his shoulder,” said Sinner.

“He couldn’t serve very well. Especially on this surface when you don’t serve well, then it’s not easy to play.”

The Italian said his first week at Wimbledon “couldn’t have gone better.”

“Every time when you reach the second week of a Grand Slam it’s a very special occasion,” he said.

“Even more special here in Wimbledon, so I’m very happy to be in the second week.”

Sinner, a Formula One fan, said he would organize his practice schedule around the British Grand Prix, which takes place at Silverstone on Sunday.

He will face either 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov or Sebastian Ofner in the fourth round at the All England Club.

The 23-year-old took a vice-like grip on the Center Court match from the start, racing into a 5-0 lead.

Martinez was given a time-out at that point and received treatment on his right shoulder before winning the next game to love on his own serve but Sinner wrapped up the set in the following game.

The second set was tighter until Sinner broke in the fifth game, repeating the feat to take the set.

Martinez required further treatment before the third set but it had little impact as Sinner raced into a 5-0 lead.

The Spaniard, 28, held up a finger to the crowd after clawing a game back but that only delayed the inevitable.

Sinner has lost just 17 games in total across his three matches in the first week of Wimbledon, in contrast to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who has shown patchy form.

The Italian returned from a doping ban in May, losing the Italian Open final to Alcaraz and squandering three championship points against the same opponent in the French Open final.

His best performance at Wimbledon was a run to the semifinals in 2023 and he reached the quarters last year.