Ons Jabeur set for big 2023 with landmark defense of Mubadala World Tennis Championship crown

ABU DHABI: Ons Jabeur can look forward to an exciting 2023 after defending her Mubadala World Tennis Championship title at the International Tennis Center at Zayed Sports City.

Just 12 months after becoming the first Arab to play at, and win, the MWTC, Tunisian ace Jabeur retained her title in the women’s match on the first day of the 14th edition, with a 5-7, 6-3, (10)-(8) victory over 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.

In doing so, she became the first woman to win back-to-back MWTC titles.

Jabeur, who reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open this year, was put under pressure by her younger opponent before finally taking a marathon nine-minute opening game.

Jabeur took brief control of the first set, breaking the Briton’s serve in game four for a 3-1 lead again for a 5-3 advantage, but a gritty Raducanu came roaring back, winning the next five games to take the first set.

Set two started with both players holding serve through the first five games before an error from debutant Raducanu in game six allowed world No. 2 Jabeur to break for a lead she would not relinquish, closing out the set 6-3 to send the match to a third set super tiebreak.

Clearly enjoying herself on court, Jabeur tried whipping up the Abu Dhabi crowd and traded some fine shots with her opponent throughout the super tiebreak before serving out the match with an ace.

Jabeur said: “I tried to remember to have a bit more fun on the court because that’s when I played my best and I did that. There were a lot of Arab people out there supporting me and that was great, it was so much fun.

“This is my second year coming here, I really enjoy playing on this court, and I’m ready to come back next year.”

Raducanu said: “I’ve