"Most people are fans of the older generation, John McEnroe & Martina Navratilova"- Ons Jabeur sheds light on evolution of tennis following in Tunisia

Ons Jabeur recently appeared on the Nothing Major Podcast and spoke about how her life was growing up as a tennis player in Tunisia. The tennis star joined in a candid conversation with former American tennis stars Sam Querrey, John Isner, Steve Johnson, and Jack Sock.

Jabeur who reached the career-high ranking of World No. 2 in 2022, spoke about the lack of popularity of the sport which led to a shortage of practice courts while growing up.

"Well, when I was really young there were some tennis clubs but not big ones. Most of the tennis courts were in hotels, I don't know if you know the Club Med. They have a lot of tennis courts there and most of the time we would go play tennis there," she said. (12:40 onwards)

She also shared how the Tunisians are fans of the older generation of tennis players like John Mcenroe and Martina Navratilova.

"Most of the people here are fans of the older generation, McEnroe and Navratilova," she added.

The 30-year-old also proudly spoke about how even though her country is majorly inclined towards soccer, nowadays tennis is gaining attention. She said that more and more people are now interested and are watching a lot more tennis than they used to.

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Ons Jabeur compliments Mirra Andreeva and keeps hopes alive for her first Grand Slam title

Ons Jabeur after losing to Mirra Andreeva at the 2024 Australian Open - Source: Getty

On her recent appearance on the 'Nothing Major Podcast', Ons Jabeur was asked to name a WTA player other than herself, who hasn't won a Grand Slam yet but she thinks could win one. The Tunisian chose Mirra Andreeva as her pick.

"I'd say [Mirra] Andreeva, maybe not in 2025 or 26 but in the future," she said. (30:51 onwards)

She also recalled her latest encounter with her at the Australian Open 2024.

"I played her once, and she really kicked my a** in Australian Open last year. But I was really surprised by her level, she has like a really solid strikes for someone her age. I can't remember I had that much power when I was her age," she added. (31:01 onwards)

The 30-year-old also shared that she would like to win the Australian Open at least once. However, she would pick a title at Wimbledon above all as she came close to winning the title twice in 2022 and 2023 but was outpowered in the final on both occasions.

Ons Jabeur will be seen in action on February 2, 2025, as she takes on Jelena Ostapenko at the 2025 Abu Dhabi Open.