Tennis star Ons Jabeur is Tunisia’s “minister of happiness”

Monia Lachheb

At the Wimbledon tennis tournament in 2022, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur became the first African woman and the first Arab tennis player to reach a tennis grand slam singles final in the open era. She repeated this achievement in 2023.

The open or professional era in tennis started in 1968 and the grand slams are the world’s biggest tournaments – the US Open, the Australian Open, the French Open and Wimbledon in the UK. Jabeur is also the highest ranked African and Arab player in open era history.

As a sociologist with a research focus on gender, including in sports in Tunisia and the Arab Maghreb, I have followed Jabeur’s career with interest. On court she is a charismatic and loved figure, but nowhere is she more loved than as a public figure at home in Tunisia, where she represents a new image for women’s sports.

Who is Ons