Ons Jabeur, a Tunisian tennis player, quipped that she’ll have to give her WTA Finals gown to Anett Kontaveit because the Estonian will finish ahead of her on the Race to the WTA Finals list.
Jabeur is presently ranked ninth in the Race to the WTA Finals, while Kontaveit is currently ranked tenth.
However, as first-placed Ashleigh Barty withdrew out of the season-ending event, Jabeur is effectively eighth and Kontaveit is ninth.
Ons Jabeur withdrew from this week’s Courmayeur, but Kontaveit advanced to the final in Cluj-Napoca.
“Looks like I will have to give Anett my dress for the opening ceremony of the @WTAFinals… she’s too busy winning matches,” Jabeur tweeted.
Looks like I will have to give Anett my dress for the opening ceremony of the @WTAFinals… she’s too busy winning matches ??
— Ons Jabeur (@Ons_Jabeur) October 29, 2021
Billie Jean King praises Ons Jabeur
“She can improve a lot, so I don’t think No 8 is going to be her top ranking at all, I think she’s got the ability to go much higher,” King told The National.
“And I think as a child, or when she was younger and maybe still to this day, a few of the things I’ve read is her saying she’s always wanted to be No 1. So she’s going in the right direction that’s for sure.”
Egypt’s Mayar Sherif is ranked No. 64 in the world, one of two Arab women in the top 100.
“When you get a top player, it changes everything, it’s inspirational,” King said. “If you can see it, you can be it, and that’s what they’re starting to see.
“They’re starting to see it actually happening to two of their own people, and so all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘Why not me? If they can do it, I can do it’.
“And that happens with a lot of young people, I remember watching Althea Gibson for me, she was my shero. These are the things that do happen, and great things will come from it.”
Read More: Ons Jabeur is the ideal player to play with: Victoria Azarenka