131-585: Ons Jabeur (born 28 August 1994) is a Tunisian professional tennis player. She has a career-high ranking by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) of world No. 2, achieved on 27 June 2022. Jabeur is the current Tunisian number one, and the highest-ranked African and Arab tennis player in WTA and ATP rankings history. She has won five singles titles on the WTA Tour , as well as eleven singles titles and one doubles title on
262-536: A felt coating. Traditionally white, the predominant colour was gradually changed to optic yellow in the latter part of the 20th century to allow for improved visibility. Tennis balls must conform to certain criteria for size, weight, deformation , and bounce to be approved for regulation play. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) defines the official diameter as 65.41–68.58 mm (2.575–2.700 in). Balls must weigh between 56.0 and 59.4 g (1.98 and 2.10 oz). Tennis balls were traditionally manufactured in
393-409: A racket and balls. The components of a tennis racket include a handle, known as the grip, connected to a neck which joins a roughly elliptical frame that holds a matrix of tightly pulled strings. For the first 100 years of the modern game, rackets were made of wood and of standard size, and strings were of animal gut . Laminated wood construction yielded more strength in rackets used through most of
524-532: A WTA 1000 tournament (since 2009). At the Italian Open , she reached her second consecutive WTA 1000 final, defeating Sorana Cîrstea, Ajla Tomljanović , Yulia Putintseva, and fourth seed Maria Sakkari, before saving a match point in the semifinals against Daria Kasatkina for her 11th straight win. In the final, she lost to Iga Świątek in straight sets. By reaching the final at the Italian Open, Jabeur set
655-626: A WTA Tour event in Africa against Ann Li at the inaugural edition of the WTA 250 tennis tournament in Tunisia , which she helped start in her home country. She was eventually defeated by Claire Liu in the quarterfinals. Jabeur made her debut at the WTA Finals in Fort Worth. She defeated Jessica Pegula in her second match of the group stage in three sets. However, she finished her campaign in
786-542: A best-of-five, wins the match. Only in the final sets of matches at the Olympic Games and Fed Cup are tiebreaks not played. In these cases, sets are played indefinitely until one player has a two-game lead, occasionally leading to some remarkably long matches . In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the end of the match with the well-known phrase " Game, set, match " followed by the winning person's or team's name. A game point occurs in tennis whenever
917-529: A boxed set which included a net, poles, rackets, balls for playing the game – and most importantly you had his rules. He was absolutely terrific at marketing and he sent his game all over the world. He had very good connections with the clergy, the law profession, and the aristocracy and he sent thousands of sets out in the first year or so, in 1874." The world's oldest annual tennis tournament took place at Leamington Lawn Tennis Club in Birmingham in 1874. This
1048-538: A bye into the second round where she was upset by Daria Saville in three sets. She reached the fourth round at the Miami Open , falling to 2022 Australian Open finalist Danielle Collins in straight sets. Jabeur reached her first final of the year at the Charleston Open , where she fell to Belinda Bencic in three sets. In Stuttgart , she was defeated by Paula Badosa in the quarterfinals. Seeded eighth at
1179-627: A call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was only played indoors, where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, which is now known as real tennis . An epitaph in St Michael's Church, Coventry , written c. 1705 , read, in part: Here lyes an old toss'd Tennis Ball: Was racketted, from spring to fall, With so much heat and so much hast, Time's arm for shame grew tyred at last. During
1310-474: A career-high ranking of world No. 6, on 16 May 2022. After having an excellent clay-court season, she then participated in the French Open , where she drew Magda Linette in the first round. She was shockingly defeated by Linette, after having a set and a break lead in the second set. Despite this, she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 4, on 6 June 2022, following the conclusion of the tournament. As
1441-557: A doubles team. The single player gets to utilize the alleys normally reserved only for a doubles team. Conversely, the doubles team does not use the alleys when executing a shot. The scoring is the same as for a regular game. This format is not sanctioned by any official body. "Australian doubles", another informal and unsanctioned form of tennis, is played with similar rules to the Canadian doubles style, only in this version, players rotate court position after each game, each player taking
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#17327728396601572-411: A former Tunisian Davis Cup player with whom she had already been working for about three years. Jabeur is a Muslim. She occasionally has to postpone certain practices due to Ramadan during tournaments. She is married to Karim Kamoun, a Russian-Tunisian former fencer who has been her fitness coach since mid-2017. Jabeur was one of 12 players who received an International Player Grand Slam Grant from
1703-571: A group of American and French tennis players playing exhibition matches to paying audiences. The most notable of these early professionals were the American Vinnie Richards and the Frenchwoman Suzanne Lenglen . Players turned pro would no longer be permitted to compete in the major (amateur) tournaments. In 1968, commercial pressures and rumours of some amateurs taking money under the table led to
1834-413: A sequence of games played with service alternating between games, ending when the count of games won meets certain criteria. Typically, a player wins a set by winning at least six games and at least two games more than the opponent. If one player has won six games and the opponent five, an additional game is played. If the leading player wins that game, the player wins the set 7–5. If the trailing player wins
1965-492: A sequence of sets. The outcome is determined through a best of three or five sets system. On the professional circuit, men play best-of-five-set matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments, Davis Cup, and the final of the Olympic Games and best-of-three-set matches at all other tournaments, while women play best-of-three-set matches at all tournaments. The first player to win two sets in a best-of-three, or three sets in
2096-415: A set down to reach the second week and round of 16 for the first time. The day before, Tunisian supporters who flocked to Wimbledon burst into song — the national soccer team song, because there isn't one for tennis — and shouted her name after her fourth-round victory over 2020 French Open champion Iga Świątek . She defeated seventh seed Iga Świątek (making another comeback from the first set down) to reach
2227-512: A solicitor, and his friend Augurio Perera developed a game that combined elements of racquets and the Basque ball game pelota , which they played on Perera's croquet lawn in Birmingham , England. In 1872, along with two local doctors, they founded the world's first tennis club on Avenue Road, Leamington Spa . This is where "lawn tennis" was used as the name of an activity by a club for
2358-628: A tennis court at the Staten Island Cricket Club at Camp Washington, Tompkinsville, Staten Island , New York. The first American National championship was played there in September 1880. An Englishman named O.E. Woodhouse won the singles title, and a silver cup worth $ 100, by defeating Canadian I. F. Hellmuth . There was also a doubles match which was won by a local pair. There were different rules at each club. The ball in Boston
2489-626: A third quarterfinal in a row at the 2024 Berlin Ladies Open , with wins over qualifier Xinyu Wang and Linda Nosková . She went out in the third round at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships , losing to Elina Svitolina . Jabeur withdrew from the US Open due to a shoulder injury. The same injury forced her to pull out of the China Open in September when she also announced she would end her season early and indicated she intended to return to
2620-459: A turn at playing alone against the other two. As such, each player plays doubles and singles over the course of a match, with the singles player always serving. Scoring styles vary, but one popular method is to assign a value of 2 points to each game, with the server taking both points if he or she holds serve and the doubles team each taking one if they break serve. Wheelchair tennis can be played by able-bodied players as well as people who require
2751-484: A wheelchair for mobility. An extra bounce is permitted. This rule makes it possible to have mixed wheelchair and able-bodied matches. It is possible for a doubles team to consist of a wheelchair player and an able-bodied player (referred to as "one-up, one-down"), or for a wheelchair player to play against an able-bodied player. In such cases, the extra bounce is permitted for the wheelchair users only. 2010 French Open %E2%80%93 Girls%27 singles Elina Svitolina won
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#17327728396602882-405: Is a let or net service , which is void, and the server retakes that serve. The player can serve any number of let services in a point and they are always treated as voids and not as faults. A fault is a serve that falls long or wide of the service box, or does not clear the net. There is also a "foot fault" when a player's foot touches the baseline or an extension of the centre mark before the ball
3013-572: Is acknowledged that this stereotype still exists). In 1954, Van Alen founded the International Tennis Hall of Fame , a nonprofit museum in Newport, Rhode Island. The building contains a large collection of tennis memorabilia as well as a hall of fame honouring prominent members and tennis players from all over the world. Part of the appeal of tennis stems from the simplicity of equipment required for play. Beginners need only
3144-482: Is called the doubles alley, playable in doubles play. The line that runs across the centre of a player's side of the court is called the service line because the serve must be delivered into the area between the service line and the net on the receiving side. Despite its name, this is not where a player legally stands when making a serve. The line dividing the service line in two is called the centre line or centre service line. The boxes this centre line creates are called
3275-515: Is history's first tennis player known by name. Another of the early enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France , who had a court set up at the Louvre Palace . It was not until the 16th century that rackets came into use and the game began to be called "tennis", from the French term tenez , which can be translated as "hold!", "receive!" or "take!", an interjection used as
3406-434: Is hit. If the second service, after a fault, is also a fault, the server double faults , and the receiver wins the point. However, if the serve is in, it is considered a legal service. A legal service starts a rally , in which the players alternate hitting the ball across the net. A legal return consists of a player hitting the ball so that it falls in the server's court, before it has bounced twice or hit any fixtures except
3537-519: Is not played, the set is referred to as an advantage set , where the set continues without limit until one player leads by a two-game margin. A "love set" means that the loser of the set won zero games, colloquially termed a "jam donut" in the US. In tournament play, the chair umpire announces the winner of the set and the overall score. The final score in sets is always read with the winning player's score first, e.g. "6–2, 4–6, 6–0, 7–5". A match consists of
3668-417: Is often the same width as the others. The players or teams start on opposite sides of the net. One player is designated the server , and the opposing player is the receiver . The choice to be server or receiver in the first game and the choice of ends is decided by a coin toss before the warm-up starts. Service alternates game by game between the two players or teams. For each point, the server starts behind
3799-422: Is unusual in that it is played on a variety of surfaces. Grass , clay , and hard courts of concrete or asphalt topped with acrylic are the most common. Occasionally carpet is used for indoor play, with hardwood flooring having been historically used. Artificial turf courts can also be found. The lines that delineate the width of the court are called the baseline (farthest back) and the service line (middle of
3930-413: The 2010 French Open and upset third seed Irina Khromacheva in the semifinals before finishing runner-up to Elina Svitolina . She also performed well at Wimbledon , reaching the quarterfinals in singles and the semifinal in doubles. She lost to Yulia Putintseva in singles, and Khromacheva and Svitolina in doubles alongside Monica Puig . Putintseva defeated Jabeur again at the US Open . Jabeur entered
4061-423: The 2024 French Open she reached the quarterfinals for a second consecutive time, with wins over wildcard Sachia Vickery , Camila Osorio , 31st seed Leylah Fernandez and Clara Tauson . She lost to third seed Coco Gauff . At the beginning of the grass season, as the top seed, she reached also the quarterfinals at the 2024 Nottingham Open with a win over qualifier Linda Fruhvirtová . Seeded eight, she reached
Ons Jabeur - Misplaced Pages Continue
4192-672: The Australian Open , she reached the French Open main draw as a lucky loser , the Wimbledon main draw as a qualifier, and the US Open main draw as a direct acceptance. She began to rise back up the rankings at the Premier-level Dubai Tennis Championships , where she qualified for the main draw and upset world No. 22, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova , in the first round. This result brought her from No. 171 to No. 137. After moderate success at
4323-562: The Baku Cup . She upset top seed, defending champion, and world No. 37, Bojana Jovanovski , in the second round before losing in the quarterfinals to Magda Linette . She entered the qualifying competitions at Wimbledon and the US Open , losing her opening match in both events. A third $ 50k title at the Saguenay Challenger with a win in the final over CoCo Vandeweghe took her to a new career-high of 139. In 2014, she played
4454-603: The Dubai Championships , where she defeated former world No. 2, Vera Zvonareva and Jessica Pegula , before falling to former No. 1, Simona Halep in the quarterfinals. She then entered the Qatar Ladies Open . After a first round bye, she defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich and Tereza Martincová before falling to Kontaveit again in the quarterfinals. At the Indian Wells Open , Jabeur received
4585-656: The French Championships date to 1891, although until 1925 they were open only to tennis players who were members of French clubs. Thus, Wimbledon, the US Open, the French Open and the Australian Open (dating to 1905) became and have remained the most prestigious events in tennis. Together, these four events are called the Majors or Slams (a term borrowed from bridge rather than baseball ). In 1913,
4716-552: The French Open in May. Jabeur had a better second half of the season. She reached the semifinals at the Premier-level Eastbourne International , where she upset home favourite and world No. 19, Johanna Konta . She withdrew before the semifinal due to a right ankle injury. Jabeur's next big result came at the US Open . She defeated No. 27 Caroline Garcia and then Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach
4847-532: The Madrid Open , the world No. 10 reached her first WTA 1000 final, besting Belinda Bencic and Simona Halep, before defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova in the semifinals to become the first Arab player to reach a final at this level. She defeated Jessica Pegula in the final to become the first African player to win a WTA 1000 title, the ninth different winner at the Madrid Open and the 38th different winner in
4978-651: The Manchester Trophy , bringing her back to No. 133. With this title, she also earned a wildcard into the main draw at Wimbledon . She won her only Grand Slam main-draw match of the year at Wimbledon over Viktorija Golubic , who she defeated for the third time in the span of a month. Jabeur ended her season with the best result of her career to date. As a qualifier at the Premier-level Kremlin Cup , she finished runner-up to world No. 14, Daria Kasatkina . She defeated three top-25 players in
5109-520: The Nana Trophy in Tunis helped her return to the top 200 for all but one week through the rest of the season. Nonetheless, she lost in qualifying at both Wimbledon and the US Open and did not have a strong second half of the season. She finished the year at No. 193. Jabeur participated in all four Grand Slam singles events in 2017 for the first time. After losing in the last round of qualifying at
5240-521: The Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games in 2016, and the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021. She lost her 2012 opening round match to Sabine Lisicki in three sets. She also lost her 2016 opening round match in three sets, this time to Daria Kasatkina . She had a chance to serve for the match in the second set against Kasatkina, but was broken. In Tokyo, she faced Carla Suárez Navarro in the first round of
5371-625: The Summer Olympic Games since 1988 . Historians believe that the game's ancient origin lay in 12th-century northern France, where a ball was struck with the palm of the hand. Louis X of France was a keen player of jeu de paume ("game of the palm"), which evolved into real tennis , and became notable as the first person to construct indoor tennis courts in the modern style. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, enclosed courts made in Paris "around
Ons Jabeur - Misplaced Pages Continue
5502-578: The World Covered Court Championships for indoor courts were awarded annually; Sweden, France, Great Britain, Denmark, Switzerland and Spain each hosted the tournament. At a meeting held on 16 March 1923 in Paris, the title "World Championship" was dropped and a new category of "Official Championship" was created for events in Great Britain, France, the US and Australia – today's Grand Slam events. The impact on
5633-403: The singles tournament , but lost in straight sets. Jabeur builds her style of play around variety and hitting what she refers to as "crazy shots". She tries to employ difficult shots because that is how she enjoys playing tennis. She likes to utilize slice and drop shots in particular. Jabeur can hit winners in a variety of ways, including backhand drop shots from the baseline or forehands up
5764-522: The $ 10k level in singles in May 2010 in Antalya, Turkey. She then won the singles and doubles events at another $ 10k tournament in Casablanca, Morocco two months later. After having left wrist surgery at the end of the year and winning a junior Grand Slam title, Jabeur moved up to the $ 25k and $ 50k levels in the summer of 2011. She made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the age of 17 as a wildcard at
5895-448: The $ 60k level, Jabeur's next big breakthrough came at the French Open. As a lucky loser, she won two main-draw matches, including an upset of world No. 7, Dominika Cibulková , in the second round for her first top-10 victory. She lost in the third round to Timea Bacsinszky . At the end of July, she made her top-100 debut. Her only other Grand Slam main-draw match-win of the year was a first-round win over American wildcard Brienne Minor at
6026-530: The 18th and early 19th centuries, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England. The invention of the first lawn mower in Britain in 1830 is believed to have been a catalyst for the preparation of modern-style grass courts, sporting ovals, playing fields, pitches, greens, etc. This in turn led to the codification of modern rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls and others. Between 1859 and 1865, Harry Gem ,
6157-406: The 20th century until first metal and then composites of carbon graphite, ceramics, and lighter metals such as titanium were introduced. These stronger materials enabled the production of oversized rackets that yielded yet more power. Meanwhile, technology led to the use of synthetic strings that match the feel of gut yet with added durability. Under modern rules of tennis, the rackets must adhere to
6288-522: The COVID-19 season suspension, Jabeur continued her good form at a Grand Slam level by reaching the third round of the US Open and the fourth round of the French Open for the first time in her career. She finished the year as world No. 31, her highest year-end ranking thus far. Jabeur participated in both tournaments of the Charleston Open , reaching the semifinal at the Volvo Car Open , and
6419-891: The Fed Cup in 2014 or 2015, which was concurrent with Tunisia's one-year ban from Davis Cup that resulted from their federation requiring Malek Jaziri to default a match to an Israeli player. When Tunisia returned to Fed Cup in 2016, they were again placed in Zone Group III. They did not manage to win their round robin groups in 2016 or 2017, losing ties to Greece and Luxembourg in 2016 and then Finland and Malta in 2017. Tunisia again won their round robin group again in 2018, after which they defeated Lithuania to win promotion to Zone Group II in 2019. They did not win their round robin group in 2019, keeping them in Zone Group II for 2020. Jabeur won all of her singles rubbers when
6550-576: The German qualifier Jule Niemeier , and in the second round in Eastbourne , she was beaten by Camila Giorgi. At Wimbledon , Jabeur managed to eliminate four Grand Slam champions on her way to the final including Bianca Andreescu in the third round, Petra Kvitová in the fourth, defending champion Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals, and world No. 2, Aryna Sabalenka, in the semifinals. However, she lost in straight sets to world No. 42, Markéta Vondroušová in
6681-598: The Grade 2 Smash International Junior Championships in Egypt, both in singles. She made her junior Grand Slam debut at the 2009 US Open , losing her opening match to Laura Robson . Jabeur started to produce strong results at the junior Grand Slam and other Grade A events in May 2010. In the doubles event at the Trofeo Bonfiglio , she partnered with Charlène Seateun to reach the semifinals. Two weeks later, she played
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#17327728396606812-544: The Grade 5 Al Fatah ITF Junior Tournament in Lebanon. She defeated Abbès to win her first Grade 5 singles event at the 2009 Fujairah ITF Junior Tennis Championships in the United Arab Emirates, where she also won the doubles event with Abbès. Later in the year, she started to have more success at higher-level tournaments, finishing runner-up at the Grade 2 International Junior Championships of Morocco and winning
6943-613: The Grand Slam Development Fund in 2017 immediately before the French Open , where she won her first two career Grand Slam main-draw matches. She became endorsed by Qatar Airways in 2020. Jabeur won the 2019 Arab Woman of the Year Award in the sport category, having reached the third round of the US Open and established herself as a permanent fixture in the top 100 that year. Jabeur is close friends with fellow tennis player Tatjana Maria , whom she defeated in
7074-643: The IOC decided to reintroduce tennis as a full-medal sport at Seoul in 1988. The Davis Cup , an annual competition between men's national teams, dates to 1900. The analogous competition for women's national teams, the Fed Cup , was founded as the Federation Cup in 1963 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the ITF. In 1926, promoter C. C. Pyle established the first professional tennis tour with
7205-476: The ITF Circuit. Jabeur was the runner-up at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023 and at the US Open in 2022 , becoming the first African and Arab woman to contest a major singles final. Jabeur was first exposed to tennis by her mother at three years old. She became pro in her teen years when she reached two junior major girls' singles finals at the French Open in 2010 and 2011, winning the latter and becoming
7336-666: The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF), now the International Tennis Federation (ITF), was founded and established three official tournaments as the major championships of the day. The World Grass Court Championships were awarded to Great Britain. The World Hard Court Championships were awarded to France; the term "hard court" was used for clay courts at the time. Some tournaments were held in Belgium instead. And
7467-463: The Olympics after the 1924 Games , but returned 60 years later as a 21-and-under demonstration event in 1984. This reinstatement was credited by the efforts of then ITF president Philippe Chatrier , ITF general secretary David Gray and ITF vice president Pablo Llorens, with support from International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch . The success of the event was overwhelming, and
7598-648: The Premier 5 Qatar Ladies Open in February 2012, where she lost her first career match to No. 103 Virginie Razzano , in three sets. She was also given a wildcard into the qualifying competition at the Dubai Tennis Championships the following week. Although she did not qualify, she upset world No. 33 Zheng Jie with a ranking of No. 1169. Jabeur did not have much success at the ITF Circuit in 2012, only reaching one final, which came in singles and
7729-401: The US Open quarterfinals are Maryna Godwin (1968) and Amanda Coetzer (1994, 1996 and 1998), both from South Africa. However, although she eventually managed to reach the final (making her the first African woman and the first Arab woman to do so), she lost against Iga Świątek, in straight sets. Unlike Wimbledon, Jabeur received 1,300 points in the tournament. Jabeur recorded her first win at
7860-483: The US Open, which cemented her place in the top 100 for the rest of the year. Jabeur fell out of the top 100 in February 2018. She did not win her first match of the year until she reached the quarterfinals at the $ 60k Space Coast Pro Classic in April. After she lost in qualifying at the French Open , she dropped down to No. 180 in the world. Jabeur regained some of her ranking points when she won her first $ 100k title at
7991-687: The United States and Europe. Although the process of producing the balls has remained virtually unchanged for the past 100 years, the majority of manufacturing now takes place in the Far East . The relocation is due to cheaper labour costs and materials in the region. Tournaments that are played under the ITF Rules of Tennis must use balls that are approved by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and be named on
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#17327728396608122-563: The abandonment of this distinction, inaugurating the Open Era , in which all players could compete in all tournaments, and top players were able to make their living from tennis. With the beginning of the Open Era, the establishment of an international professional tennis circuit, and revenues from the sale of television rights, tennis's popularity has spread worldwide, and the sport has shed its middle-class English-speaking image (although it
8253-454: The arm than most strings. Most synthetic strings are made from monofilament or multifiliament nylon strings. Monofilament strings are cheap to buy, and are used widely by many recreational level players for their all round performance, while multifilament strings are created to mimic natural gut more closely by weaving together fibres, but are generally more expensive than their monofilament counterparts. Polyester strings allow for more spin on
8384-432: The ball than any other string, due to their firm strings, while keeping control of the ball, and this is why many players use them, especially higher player ones. Kevlar tennis strings are highly durable, and are mostly used by players that frequently break strings, because they maintain tension well, but these strings can be stiff on the arm. Hybrid stringing is when a tennis racket is strung with two different strings for
8515-410: The baseline, between the centre mark and the sideline. The receiver may start anywhere on their side of the net. When the receiver is ready, the server will serve , although the receiver must play to the pace of the server. For a service to be legal, the ball must travel over the net without touching it into the diagonally opposite service box. If the ball hits the net but lands in the service box, this
8646-406: The baselines, dividing it into two equal ends. It is held up by either a cord or metal cable of diameter no greater than 0.8 cm ( 1 ⁄ 3 in). The net is 3 feet 6 inches (1.07 m) high at the posts and 3 feet (0.91 m) high in the centre. The net posts are 3 feet (0.91 m) outside the doubles court on each side or, for a singles net, 3 feet (0.91 m) outside
8777-510: The capital city of Tunis to train at the Lycée Sportif El Menzah, a national sport high school for the country's up-and-coming athletes, where she stayed for several years. She also later trained in Belgium and France starting at the age of 16. Jabeur credits her parents for the sacrifices they made while raising her, saying, "My parents sacrificed a lot of things – my mom used to drive me everywhere around Tunisia to go play
8908-442: The chair umpire in tournament play. A break point occurs if the receiver, not the server , has a chance to win the game with the next point. Break points are of particular importance because serving is generally considered advantageous, with servers being expected to win games in which they are serving. A receiver who has one (score of 30–40 or advantage), two (score of 15–40) or three (score of love–40) consecutive chances to win
9039-526: The court in Australia in 2025. Jabeur represented Tunisia at the Junior Fed Cup in 2009 alongside Nour Abbès and Sonia Daggou. The team finished third place in their round robin group that also included Mexico , China , and Germany . Although Jabeur lost all three of her singles rubbers, Tunisia won their tie against Mexico after Abbès won her singles match and Jabeur teamed up with Abbès to win
9170-424: The court). The short mark in the centre of each baseline is referred to as either the hash mark or the centre mark. The outermost lines that make up the length are called the doubles sidelines; they are the boundaries for doubles matches. The lines to the inside of the doubles sidelines are the singles sidelines, and are the boundaries in singles play. The area between a doubles sideline and the nearest singles sideline
9301-570: The decisive doubles rubber. Tunisia finished in 11th place out of 16 teams overall, losing their first 9th-to-12th place tie to Indonesia, but winning their second 9th-to-12th place tie against Australia. Jabeur and Abbès won both singles rubbers in that last tie. Jabeur made her senior Fed Cup debut for Tunisia in 2011, representing the team from 2011 to 2013, and again from 2016 through 2019. She has played in 29 ties, compiling an overall record of 32–11 split between 24–5 in singles and 8–6 in doubles. Her 24 singles wins are tied with Selima Sfar for
9432-497: The doubles event with Putintseva and lost in the quarterfinals to Khromacheva again, who had partnered with Daria Gavrilova . Following the US Open, Jabeur had left wrist surgery in November that kept her out for five months until April 2011. The last two singles events of Jabeur's junior career were the 2011 French Open and the 2011 Wimbledon Championships . At the French Open , she won her only junior Grand Slam title to become
9563-417: The end of the 13th century". In due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe. In June 1316 at Vincennes , Val-de-Marne, and following a particularly exhausting game, Louis drank a large quantity of cooled wine and subsequently died of either pneumonia or pleurisy , although there was also suspicion of poisoning. Because of the contemporary accounts of his death, Louis X
9694-604: The final of the second, the MUSC Health Women's Open , which she lost to Australian Astra Sharma . She reached a career-high ranking of world No. 24 on 10 May 2021. Seeded 25th at the French Open , she took her revenge by defeating Sharma in the second round to advance to the third round of a major for a sixth straight time. She defeated Magda Linette to reach the fourth round for a second time in this major where she lost to 24th seed Coco Gauff . Seeded second, Jabeur reached her third final in her career and made history as
9825-431: The final, which she described as the "most painful loss" in her career. She won her fifth title defeating Diana Shnaider in the final of the 2023 Ningbo Open . At the Australian Open , Jabeur lost in the second round for a second consecutive year, this time to the 16-year old Mirra Andreeva who was making her tournament debut and ranked No. 47 at the time. This was also Andreeva's first top-10 win in her career. At
9956-570: The first African or Arab to win a junior major since 1964. After nearly a decade of playing primarily at the ITF level, she started competing more regularly on the WTA Tour in 2017. She won the Arab Woman of the Year award in 2019. At the 2020 Australian Open , Jabeur became the first Arab woman to reach a major quarterfinal, a feat she repeated at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships . She also became
10087-473: The first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal. The following month, Jabeur continued her progress after receiving two wildcards to both Premier tournaments in the Middle East. She held a match point against No. 2, Simona Halep , in a second-round loss at Dubai . She then reached the quarterfinals at the Qatar Ladies Open , where she upset world No. 3, Karolína Plíšková, in the third round. After
10218-541: The first Arab woman to win a WTA Tour title at the 2021 Birmingham Classic . Jabeur won the 2022 Madrid Open , a WTA 1000 event, her biggest title, becoming the first female Tunisian and Arab player to win at this level. Her achievements are credited with raising the profile of tennis across the African continent. Ons Jabeur was born to Samira and Ridha Jabeur in Ksar Hellal , a small town in Tunisia . She grew up in
10349-480: The first Arab woman to win a WTA Tour title at the Birmingham Classic by defeating Daria Kasatkina. At the same tournament, partnering with Australian Ellen Perez , Jabeur also reached her first doubles final, losing to Marie Bouzková and Lucie Hradecká . At Wimbledon , Jabeur, seeded 21st, defeated five-time champion Venus Williams to become the first Tunisian tennis player, first Arab woman, and
10480-408: The first North African woman to win a junior Grand Slam tournament. As the ninth seed, she upset top seed Daria Gavrilova in the quarterfinals, third seed Caroline Garcia in the semifinals, and then fifth seed Monica Puig in the final. This title helped her rise to No. 4 in the world in the junior rankings. She also became the first Arab girl to win a junior Grand Slam singles title in history, and
10611-670: The first junior in general since Ismail El Shafei won the Wimbledon boys' title in 1964 . Jabeur also entered the doubles event at the Grade 1 Junior International Roehampton, which she won while partnering with Ashleigh Barty . Jabeur began playing on the ITF Women's Circuit in 2008 at the age of 14. In October 2009, she finished runner-up in both singles and doubles at a $ 10K tournament in Monastir near her hometown, losing to Elise Tamaëla in both events. She won her first title at
10742-440: The first time. In Tennis: A Cultural History , Heiner Gillmeister reveals that on 8 December 1874, British army officer Walter Clopton Wingfield wrote to Harry Gem, commenting that he (Wingfield) had been experimenting with his version of lawn tennis "for a year and a half". In December 1873, Wingfield designed and patented a game which he called sphairistikè ( Greek : σφαιριστική , meaning "ball-playing"), and which
10873-432: The first woman representing an African country since Cara Black from Zimbabwe in 2005, to reach the third round (or quarterfinals) at Wimbledon. This also marked her seventh consecutive third-round appearance at a major. She continued her run when, despite vomiting at the side of the court when at match point, she defeated former Wimbledon champion and 11th seed, Garbiñe Muguruza , to reach the fourth round, coming back from
11004-497: The following guidelines; The rules regarding rackets have changed over time, as material and engineering advances have been made. For example, the maximum length of the frame had been 32 inches (81 cm) until 1997, when it was shortened to 29 inches (74 cm). Many companies manufacture and distribute tennis rackets. Wilson, Head and Babolat are three of the most commonly used brands; however, many more companies exist. The same companies sponsor players to use these rackets in
11135-585: The following week, beaten by Russian qualifier Varvara Gracheva . In April, she won the Charleston Open by defeating in the final Belinda Bencic, taking her revenge for the previous year loss in the final. She reached the final without losing a set, with wins over Lesia Tsurenko , Caroline Dolehide , Anna Kalinskaya and Daria Kasatkina . She took part in the Stuttgart Grand Prix two weeks later and took out former Roland Garros winner Jeļena Ostapenko and Beatriz Haddad Maia but had to retire in
11266-533: The four recipient nations to replace the "world championships" with "official championships" was simple in a general sense: each became a major nation of the federation with enhanced voting power, and each now operated a major event. The comprehensive rules promulgated in 1924 by the ILTF have remained largely stable in the ensuing 80 years, the one major change being the addition of the tiebreak system designed by Jimmy Van Alen . That same year, tennis withdrew from
11397-404: The game (tying the set 6–6) a tiebreak is played. A tiebreak, played under a separate set of rules, allows one player to win one more game and thus the set, to give a final set score of 7–6. A tiebreak game can be won by scoring at least seven points and at least two points more than the opponent. In a tiebreak, two players serve by 'ABBA' system which has been proven to be fair. If a tiebreak
11528-411: The game has break point , double break point or triple break point , respectively. If the receiver does, in fact, win their break point, the game is awarded to the receiver, and the receiver is said to have converted their break point. If the receiver fails to win their break point it is called a failure to convert. Winning break points, and thus the game, is also referred to as breaking serve , as
11659-458: The ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. A recent addition to professional tennis has been the adoption of electronic review technology coupled with a point-challenge system, which allows a player to contest the line call of a point, a system known as Hawk-Eye . Tennis is played by millions of recreational players and is a popular worldwide spectator sport. The four Grand Slam tournaments (also referred to as
11790-597: The higher-level result coming at the $ 50k Open Nantes Atlantique , losing to Kateřina Siniaková . After losing in qualifying at the French Open and Wimbledon , Jabeur qualified for two major main draws in a row at the 2014 US Open and the 2015 Australian Open . She lost her opening matches at both tournaments to No. 19 Andrea Petkovic and Vera Zvonareva , respectively. With no titles, finals, or semifinals in 2015, her year-end ranking dropped to No. 210. Jabeur rebounded with two $ 25k titles in January 2016. A $ 50k title at
11921-565: The hopes that the company name will become better known by the public. There are multiple types of tennis strings, including natural gut and synthetic stings made from materials such as nylon , kevlar , or polyester . The first type of tennis strings available were natural gut strings, introduced by Babolat. They were the only type used until synthetic strings were introduced in the 1950s. Natural gut strings are still used frequently by players such as Roger Federer. They are made from cow intestines, and provide increased power, and are easier on
12052-539: The larger nearby coastal town of Sousse . Jabeur has two older brothers, Hatem and Marwen, and an older sister, Yasmine. Her mother played tennis recreationally and introduced her to the sport at the age of three. Jabeur trained under coach Nabil Mlika for ten years from ages four to thirteen, originally starting to work with him at a tennis promotion centre at her school. When she was ten years old, her club did not have its own tennis courts and she could only train on courts at nearby hotels. At twelve years old, Jabeur moved to
12183-418: The late Middle Ages . The modern form of tennis originated in Birmingham , England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis . It had close connections to various field (lawn) games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport today called real tennis . The rules of modern tennis have changed little since the 1890s. Two exceptions are that until 1961 the server had to keep one foot on
12314-635: The line. She likes to play on any surface. As a junior, Jabeur was coached by Nabil Mlika until she was thirteen years old. Jabeur began working with Bertrand Perret in February 2018. She viewed Perret as being more supportive of her style of play than her past coaches, saying, "I think he understands my game. He tries to improve my good shots, not change what I do. I've worked with a lot of coaches who tried to change my game ... Bertrand encourages me to do dropshots and also corrects my dropshots, instead of other coaches who told me not to do dropshots at all." In early 2020, Jabeur switched coaches to Issam Jellali ,
12445-534: The main draw in the Malaysian Open losing to Giulia Gatto-Monticone in the first round. Jabeur stayed inside the top 200 for most of the next three years, but could not enter the top 100, reaching a career-best ranking of 118 in 2015. She continued to play a mix of ITF and WTA events but played primarily at the ITF level. Her only ITF title in 2014 came at a $ 25k event in Tunis, and she did not win any titles in 2015. She finished runner-up twice in 2014, with
12576-553: The mains (the vertical strings) and the crosses (the horizontal strings). This is most commonly done with two different strings that are made of different materials, but can also be done with two different types of the same string. A notable example of a player using hybrid strings is Roger Federer, using natural gut strings in his mains and polyester strings in his crosses. Tennis balls were originally made of cloth strips stitched together with thread and stuffed with feathers. Modern tennis balls are made of hollow vulcanized rubber with
12707-405: The majors) are especially popular and are considered the highest level of competition for the sport. These tournaments are the Australian Open , played on hardcourts ; the French Open , played on red clay courts ; Wimbledon , played on grass courts ; and the US Open , also played on hardcourts. Additionally, tennis was one of the original Olympic sports , and has been consistently competed in
12838-562: The most in Tunisia Fed Cup history. When Jabeur debuted for Tunisia, they were in Europe/Africa Zone Group III. They were promoted to Zone Group II for 2013 after winning all five of their round robin ties and a play-off tie against Ireland in 2012. They were again promoted to Zone Group I for 2014 the following year, winning a play-off tie over Lithuania . However, Tunisia ultimately did not participate in
12969-399: The net. A player or team cannot hit the ball twice in a row. The ball must travel over or round the net into the other players' court. A ball that hits the net during a rally is considered a legal return as long as it crosses into the opposite side of the court. The first player or team to fail to make a legal return loses the point. The server then moves to the other side of the service line at
13100-408: The official ITF list of approved tennis balls. Tennis is played on a rectangular, flat surface. The court is 78 feet (23.77 m) long, and 27 feet (8.2 m) wide for singles matches and 36 ft (11 m) for doubles matches. Additional clear space around the court is required in order for players to reach overrun balls. A net is stretched across the full width of the court, parallel with
13231-462: The opponent's court . The object is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. If a player is unable to return the ball successfully, the opponent scores a point . Playable at all levels of society and at all ages, tennis can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users . The original forms of tennis developed in France during
13362-488: The player who is in the lead in the game needs only one more point to win the game. The terminology is extended to sets (set point), matches (match point), and even championships (championship point). For example, if the player who is serving has a score of 40–love, the player has a triple game point (triple set point, etc.) as the player has three consecutive chances to win the game. Game points, set points, and match points are not part of official scoring and are not announced by
13493-410: The player's scores equal at 40 apiece, the score is not called out as "40–40", but rather as "deuce". If at least three points have been scored by each side and a player has one more point than his opponent, the score of the game is "advantage" for the player in the lead. During informal games, advantage can also be called "ad in" or "van in" when the serving player is ahead, and "ad out" or "van out" when
13624-507: The quarterfinals for the first time at this major defeating 31st seed Shelby Rogers , and then 18th seed Veronika Kudermetova in straight sets to record her first victory over the Russian in four meetings. She became the third African woman to make it into the quarterfinals of the US Open in the Open era – and the first from the northern part of the continent. The other African women to reach
13755-584: The quarterfinals, where she lost to second seed and also first-time quarterfinalist Aryna Sabalenka . As a result, she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 22 on 26 July 2021. To begin the US Open Series , Jabeur played the Canadian Open seeded 13th, beating Clara Burel , Daria Kasatkina, and defending champion Bianca Andreescu before losing in the quarterfinals to Jessica Pegula in three sets. With this result, she made her top 20 debut
13886-449: The receiver has disrupted, or broken the natural advantage of the server. If in the following game the previous server also wins a break point it is referred to as breaking back . Except where tiebreaks apply, at least one break of serve is required to win a set (otherwise a two-game lead would never occur). Another, however informal, tennis format is called Canadian doubles . This involves three players, with one person playing against
14017-414: The receiving player is ahead; alternatively, either player may simply call out "my ad" or "your ad". The score of a tennis game during play is always read with the serving player's score first. In tournament play, the chair umpire calls the point count (e.g., "15–love") after each point. At the end of a game, the chair umpire also announces the winner of the game and the overall score. A set consists of
14148-491: The round-robin stage as she lost two out of her three matches against Aryna Sabalenka and Maria Sákkari, respectively. She ended the best season of her career ranked No. 2 in the WTA rankings. She started the year with two victories against Sorana Cîrstea and Ukrainian qualifier Marta Kostyuk in Adelaide International 1 . She was defeated in the semifinals by 18-year old qualifier Linda Nosková , 102nd in
14279-515: The semifinal against top seed Iga Świątek, after three games due to a left calf injury. This injury also forced her to give up defending her title at the Madrid Open . She returned to the Italian Open but lost in the first match against former world No. 2, Paula Badosa. At Roland Garros , she eliminated the Italian Lucia Bronzetti , the local Océane Dodin , the last Frenchwoman in the running, and Olga Danilović , both out of
14410-427: The semifinals of a major tournament. After that, she defeated Tatjana Maria to reach her maiden Grand Slam final, which made her the first African woman, and the first Arab or North African player, in the Open Era to enter a Grand Slam singles final. In the final, she lost to Elena Rybakina in three sets. Despite this, Wimbledon did not receive points due to athletes representing Russia and Belarus being banned from
14541-403: The semifinals of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships , describing her as her "barbecue buddy". Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles ) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles ). Each player uses a tennis racket strung with a cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into
14672-404: The service boxes; depending on a player's position, they have to hit the ball into one of these when serving. A ball is out only if none of it has hit the area inside the lines, or the line, upon its first bounce. All lines are required to be between 1 and 2 inches (25 and 51 mm) in width, with the exception of the baseline which can be up to 4 inches (100 mm) wide, although in practice it
14803-417: The singles court on each side. The modern tennis court owes its design to Major Walter Clopton Wingfield . In 1873, Wingfield patented a court much the same as the current one for his stické tennis (sphairistike). This template was modified in 1875 to the court design that exists today, with markings similar to Wingfield's version, but with the hourglass shape of his court changed to a rectangle. Tennis
14934-431: The singles rankings of world No. 2, on 27 June 2022, which was the highest-ranking for any African and Arab tennis player in WTA and ATP rankings history. In London , she reached her second consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal, defeating Mirjam Björklund , Katarzyna Kawa , Diane Parry and 24th seed Elise Mertens . Defeating Marie Bouzková in the quarterfinal, she became the first Arab or North African woman ever to reach
15065-468: The start of a new point. A game consists of a sequence of points played with the same player serving. A game is won by the first player to have won at least four points in total and at least two points more than the opponent. The running score of each game is described in a manner peculiar to tennis: scores from zero to three points are described as "love", "15", "30", and "40", respectively. If at least three points have been scored by each player, making
15196-522: The team was promoted in 2012, 2013, and 2018. As a junior, Jabeur also represented Tunisia at the 2010 Youth Olympics in Singapore, winning two singles matches and one doubles match, the latter with Romanian Cristina Dinu . She was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Chinese player Zheng Saisai in both competitions. Jabeur also represented Tunisia in singles at the London Olympics in 2012,
15327-590: The third round at a Grand Slam tournament for the second time in her career. She lost a tight three-set match to world No. 3, Karolína Plíšková , in the third round. With this success, she reached a career-high ranking of No. 51. The only other tournament of the year where Jabeur won multiple main-draw matches was the Tianjin Open in October. She defeated three players including No. 36 Yulia Putintseva , before losing to Rebecca Peterson in her second semifinal of
15458-530: The top 100 to join as in 2020 and 2021 the round of 16 Porte d'Auteuil. She finds the American Bernarda Pera , a novice at this stage. She dismisses him and goes to the quarterfinals for the first time in her career in the tournament. Against Haddad Maia, the match was more complicated and she was overthrown after a long duel. As defending champion in Berlin , she lost in the first round against
15589-607: The top seed, she won the German Open in Berlin after Belinda Bencic retired in the second set of the final. As a result, she moved to a new career-high ranking of world No. 3, on 20 June 2022. Jabeur initially entered the Eastbourne International singles draw seeded second, but withdrew before the tournament. Jabeur remained in the doubles draw as a wildcard, in which she partnered with Serena Williams , who
15720-615: The tournament because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine . Leading up to the US Open during the North American summer, Jabeur lost in the second round at the Silicon Valley Classic and retired in her first round match against Zheng Qinwen at the Canadian Open . At the Cincinnati Open , Jabeur lost in the second round to Petra Kvitová, in three sets. At the US Open , she regained her form, advancing to
15851-448: The tournament, including No. 8 Sloane Stephens and No. 11 Anastasija Sevastova . With this result, she returned to the top 100 at a career-high of No. 62 in the world. Jabeur played all four Grand Slam main draws for the first time in 2019, and stayed in the top 100 the entire year. She lost in the first round at the first three Grand Slam tournaments of the season, and did not win multiple main draw matches at any tournaments until after
15982-542: The tournaments, and she encouraged me to go to a special school to study. That was a big sacrifice to see her little girl going for a dream that, honestly, wasn't 100% guaranteed. She believed in me and gave me the confidence to be there." Jabeur began playing on the ITF Junior Circuit in August 2007 on the week of her 13th birthday. With compatriot Nour Abbès , she won the doubles event of her debut tournament,
16113-410: The week of 16 August 2021. At Indian Wells , Jabeur reached her first WTA 1000 semifinal by defeating Anett Kontaveit in the quarterfinals. With the win, she propelled herself into a career-high ranking, becoming the first Arab tennis player to reach the top 10 in either ATP or WTA rankings history. After the withdrawal of Emma Raducanu from the exhibition event World Tennis Championship , Jabeur
16244-466: The world, in three sets. In mid-January, she competed in the Australian Open and, defeating Tamara Zidanšek in three sets, she came up against Markéta Vondroušová. After an absence for a right knee injury which was treated by surgery, she returned to the circuit in March at Indian Wells , but lost in the third round against Vondroušová, after beating Magdalena Fręch . She fell in the first round of Miami
16375-488: The year. Jabeur had a major breakthrough at the Australian Open . After defeating Johanna Konta and Caroline Garcia in the first two rounds, she beat Caroline Wozniacki in three sets in the last match of Wozniacki's career. Jabeur defeated a fourth top 50 player in succession in Wang Qiang before losing to eventual champion Sofia Kenin in the quarterfinals. With this result, she made her top-50 debut, and also became
16506-545: Was given her place. She won the tournament, defeating Belinda Bencic in the final. Jabeur started her season at the Sydney International . She defeated Astra Sharma in the first round and Petra Kvitová in the second round before losing to Anett Kontaveit in the quarterfinals. She subsequently withdrew from the Australian Open due to a back injury sustained in the Sydney tournament. In February, Jabeur played
16637-545: Was her first at the $ 25k level. She also entered qualifying at the French Open , but only won one match. Jabeur finished the year ranked No. 260 in the world. After a slow start to 2013, Jabeur won her first $ 25k title in April 2013 in Tunis . She then won back-to-back $ 50k titles over An-Sophie Mestach in Japan in May to bring her into the top 200 for the first time. In July, Jabeur played in her second WTA tournament main draw at
16768-993: Was larger than the one normally used in New York. On 21 May 1881, the oldest nationwide tennis organization in the world was formed, the United States National Lawn Tennis Association (now the United States Tennis Association ) in order to standardize the rules and organize competitions. The US National Men's Singles Championship, now the US Open , was first held in 1881 at the Newport Casino , Newport, Rhode Island . The US National Women's Singles Championships were first held in 1887 in Philadelphia . Tennis also became popular in France, where
16899-400: Was playing her first tournament since 2021 Wimbledon . Jabeur and Williams won their first-round match against Marie Bouzková and Sara Sorribes Tormo to set up a quarterfinal against Shuko Aoyama and Chan Hao-ching . They then reached the semifinals but Jabeur withdrew before their match with Magda Linette and Aleksandra Krunić citing a right knee injury. She achieved a new career-high in
17030-492: Was soon known simply as "sticky" – for the amusement of guests at a garden party on his friend's estate of Nantclwyd Hall , in Llanelidan , Wales. According to R. D. C. Evans, turfgrass agronomist , "Sports historians all agree that [Wingfield] deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis." According to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield "popularized this game enormously. He produced
17161-524: Was three years before the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club would hold its first championships at Wimbledon, in 1877. The first Championships culminated in a significant debate on how to standardise the rules. In the United States in 1874, Mary Ewing Outerbridge , a young socialite, returned from Bermuda with a sphairistikè set. She became fascinated by the game of tennis after watching British army officers play. She laid out
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