Ons Jabeur returns from injury seeking elusive top form

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