Having made history in her previous Grand Slam appearance, Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur is hoping to make strides towards her goal of reaching the WTA top 20 by the end of 2020 at the US Open as she reflected on the impact of the Grand Slam Development Fund and ITF in her career to date.

In an interview with Olympic Channel’s Nick McCarvel, Jabeur gave an insight into life inside the New York bubble created to keep players safe while competing at the relocated Western & Southern Open prior to the second Grand Slam event of the year.

“To be honest, in the beginning it was a little bit weird, to be outside and no-one was there,” said Jabeur, who is spending her second spell in the city in 2020 after being caught up in the international travel restrictions when the COVID-19 pandemic was first declared in March.

“I was stuck for a while in New York – three weeks, almost a month – but I did manage to go home,” she said. “After I went back I had to quarantine in a hotel for two weeks. But COVID in Tunisia was a good situation, it was one of the safest countries and I was proud of that. Hopefully it continues that way.”

Jabeur will be seeded for the first time at a Grand Slam at this year’s US Open, where opened with a 6-2 7-6(6) win over Poland’s Katarzyna Kawa in the first round. Should she beat Estonia's Kaia Kanepi to match her 2019 run to the third round in New York, a potential rematch of her 2020 Australian Open quarter-final with eventual champion Sofia Kenin, the No.2 seed, awaits.

'I had a meeting with my team at the start of the season and said I want to reach the top 20, I want to be ready'

That career-best run at a major “was like a dream coming true,” Jabeur said. “I had a meeting with my team at the start of the season and said I want to reach the top 20, I want to be ready,” Jabeur said. “My whole mindset changed, and I wanted to go as far as I could at the Australian Open.”

After beating Johanna Konta and Caroline Garcia to reach the third round, she faced former champion Caroline Wozniacki in the Dane’s last professional tournament. The match was a thriller, with Jabeur edging the contest 7-5 3-6 7-5.

“I was trying to focus more on myself than her ending her career as that was her last tournament,” Jabeur said. “To be honest, I wanted to win, and maybe start my career. It was time for me to be able to show myself to the world. It was a great match, and I’m just happy that I got the win. It was one of the greatest moments. I just regret one thing: not exchanging racquets with Caroline. I was lucky to share the locker room with her, and to be on court that day was a great honour for me.”

Slated to face Serena Williams in the last 16, Jabeur instead faced China's Qiang Wang, who upset the 23-time Grand Slam champion on her return to Melbourne Park. Victory made her the first Arab woman to advance to the quarter-final of a Grand Slam, and while her run ended there, it was a proud moment for the Tunisian, and a chance to reflect on how far she has come.

'It was a challenge at 13 years old to be so far from home, waking up at 5am for practice and getting back at 9pm, but I think I had to go through that to become the person I am today'

Jabeur began playing tennis at the age of three, and by age 10 was travelling to regional tournaments before moving away from home to train in the Tunisian capital Tunis three years later.

“I’m from Ksar El Hellar, and to get to Tunis is 140km,” she explained. “I had to go there to train and study at the same time, so it was a challenge at 13 years old to be so far from home, waking up at 5am for practice and only getting back at 8-9pm, but I think I had to go through that to become the person I am today.”

To help with her career development, Jabeur received various levels of support from the Grand Slam Development Fund. She was a part of the ITF/GSDF African 14 and Under Team that toured Europe in 2008, and received four grants to play junior events through 2009-2011 and another to play women's circuit events in 2013.

The faith in her ability was well placed. In 2011 she became the first North African woman to win a Grand Slam tournament in any category by defeating Monica Puig in the girls' final at Roland Garros, while a $50,000 grant received in 2017 primed her for a major breakthrough as she reached the third round at Roland Garros to move to the cusp of the world’s top 100, bringing her ranking into double digits later that year.

Jabeur has since gone on to become the highest-ranked Arab woman in WTA history, breaking into the top 50 after her run in Melbourne and entering the US Open at a new career-high ranking of No.31 in the world. She is a two-time Olympian, competing for Tunisia at both London 2012 and Rio 2016, and has a 37-13 win-loss record for Tunisia in Fed Cup by BNP Paribas.

“That was the first year when I broke through into the top 100, it was really important for me to be able to pay my staff, to pay for a coach,” Jabeur said of that 2017 GSDF grant. “Tennis is expensive, and you need a lot of money to travel. So I’m so grateful for this fund, for the ITF, and the way they helped me.

“It was an amazing year for me, playing without stress about money, and how you’re going to pay your coach. It was a year free of stress, financially. It was really nice of them to be able to save me that year. Since then I haven’t gone out of the top 100 – I was stable, I was really able to play a lot of great tournaments. It was really good timing from them, to be honest!”

'My dream is to see a lot more Arab players on tour. It’s not impossible – we did it. We worked hard and believed in ourselves, and now we are here'

The Grand Slam Development Fund was established in 1986 to encourage and increase competitive opportunities in developing tennis regions. With annual contributions from the four Grand Slam tournaments, the Fund has become an effective means to develop competitive tennis worldwide – and as a trailblazer for tennis in Tunisia, Jabeur hopes her example will inspire the next generation to follow her path.

“The ITF has been there for me from Day 1, since juniors – back then they gave money to my Federation to help me travel,” Jabeur said. “They knew how serious I am, and how badly I wanted to become one of the best tennis players in the world.

“My dream is to see a lot more Arab players on tour playing well,” Jabeur said. To be honest, it’s not impossible I don’t think. The younger generation is a lot more motivated – back in Tunisia I can see a lot of young talented players, and I hope I can inspire them. Then one day I can share my experience, show them the way, and not make the same mistakes as me!

“I love seeing Arab players on tour with me. Malek Jaziri is coming back just now, and I’ve seen Mohamed Safwat in Europe. There’s also another girl who’s doing well, Mayar Sherif from Egypt. I hope we can inspire anyone in the Arab world to become some of the best players. It’s not impossible – we did it. We worked hard and we believed in ourselves, and now we are here.”