Serena Williams was thrilled to accept Ons Jabeur’s offer to host her and Venus Williams in Tunisia.
Jabeur’s Wimbledon 2022 campaign was featured extensively in the newly-released second part of the Netflix docuseries ‘Break Point.’ The episode titled ‘Saints and Sinners,’ also put a spotlight on the 28-year-old’s doubles partnership with Serena Williams prior to the Grand Slam.
Williams, who was making her return to the court after nearly a year-long injury layoff, invited the Tunisian to team up for doubles at the Eastbourne International in the lead-up to the grasscourt Major.
Jabeur expressed her astonishment at being chosen by the American as her doubles partner. She acknowledged the 23-time Grand Slam champion’s significant impact and stated that playing alongside Williams inspired her to share her own story.
“It’s crazy, you know. Why me from all the players? She chose a girl from Tunisia. Her story’s really inspiring. She gave a lot of women a voice. To be able to play next to her pushes me to do better and maybe tell my own story,” Jabeur said. The World No. 6 also extended an invitation to Serena Williams to visit Tunisia, mentioning that she had already made a similar offer to Venus Williams.
“Serena, you have to come to Tunisia. I already invited Venus. She told me she loves traveling,” she said. The 41-year-old jokingly warned Jabeur to be careful since she intended to take her up on the offer.
“Be careful, because I’m going to take you up on that. You gonna show me a good time? We’re going to come. We’re going to live our lives,” Williams responded.How Serena Williams and Ons Jabeur’s doubles partnership fared at Eastbourne 2022Ons Jabeur and Serena Williams at the Rothesay International Eastbourne 2022 Ons Jabeur and Serena Williams at the Rothesay International Eastbourne 2022
Serena Williams and Ons Jabeur’s doubles partnership proved to be a successful venture as they began their campaign at the Eastbourne International with a win over Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo.
The pair then eased past Shuko Aoyama and Chan Hao-ching in straight sets, winning 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals. Williams and Jabeur were scheduled to take on Aleksandra Krunic and Magda Linette. However, an injury to the Tunisian’s right knee brought an abrupt end to their campaign as they were forced to withdraw from the tournament.
Serena Williams received a wildcard to compete at Wimbledon 2022 after dropping down to 1,204 in the WTA rankings. However, the seven-time champion’s last appearance at SW19 ended in a first-round defeat to Harmony Tan after a three-hour and 11-minute long thriller.
Meanwhile, Ons Jabeur enjoyed a dominant run at the grasscourt Major and advanced to her maiden Grand Slam final. In doing so, she became the first-ever Arab or North African player to reach a Major final in the Open Era.
However, the Tunisian was unable to claim the Wimbledon 2022 title as Elena Rybakina secured a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win in the final