THE CHAMPIONSHIPS

July 4, 2023

Ons Jabeur

Press Conference

O. JABEUR/M. Frech

6-3, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Welcome to the press conference of Ons Jabeur.

Ons, what are your feelings after that first match today?

ONS JABEUR: Yes, I think it was a good start for me. Just I obviously love starting on Court 1. It's amazing. I feel lucky that I played on Court 1, especially today.

Hopefully my game will keep improving and keep getting better for the next matches.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. The way the day has gone, you got lucky because you were on a roofed court, but do you remember a day at a slam where you had 70 cancellations? What is that like? Do you feel everyone is around waiting, or you didn't feel anything today?

ONS JABEUR: Yeah, I think I had my matches was canceled before when I was playing on the small courts.

Yeah, again, I feel lucky today that I played on Court 1. It's a shame that the weather is like this. Hopefully it will get better the next few days. I honestly haven't seen the weather, so let's see, let's hope.

I know some matches, because I've been waiting for Anett's match, and she hasn't played yesterday or today. Hopefully she will get to play. I believe the weather is sad that she's leaving, so they don't want her to play (smiling).

Q. Ash Barty has announced that she's just had a baby. I wondered if you had any thoughts about Ash. Is she missed on the circuit? What do you think about the news?

ONS JABEUR: Fantastic. I'm very happy for her that she had a baby boy. I'm very happy for her because this is something that I want to have, a family.

I'm sure she's enjoying being a mom right now than being on a tennis court waiting to play at Wimbledon (smiling). I hope that she will change her mind like Wozniacki and comes back maybe in one or two years.

Q. Two years and one day since she won here.

ONS JABEUR: Oh, yeah? That's a long time. Again, I still hope that she will change her mind and come back.

Q. You mentioned Anett. What was your reaction for her two weeks ago announcement? How do you became such a close friend? What do you think of her career?

ONS JABEUR: As a close friend, I knew before. I was very, very sad. I honestly tried to convince her not to, but it didn't work out.

But it's her decision. It's also nice to see that someone knows what they're doing, and she knows exactly that she wants to retire and move on. Especially her back did not help much.

Very sad that I'm going to miss her on tour. I'm definitely going to go see her and hopefully go see her in Estonia. It's a country that I never visited before.

Q. If you would pick any differences between your match with Magda in Indian Wells and right now, could you say anything more about Magda's progress? On grass she's playing better and better.

ONS JABEUR: Yeah, I mean, I would like to talk more about myself because I believe in Indian Wells, just coming back from an injury. It's not easy to play someone like her. I know she's such a fighter. She plays a tough game for someone coming back.

Yeah, maybe today I have little bit more experience than her on grass. Yeah, I expected she gives me a hard time. I'm glad that I stayed focused in the right moments.

But, yeah, I definitely prefer this match than Indian Wells.

Q. Do you feel you find your moment too in this match today?

ONS JABEUR: Yes, yes. I believe I'm finding my game much better now. The most important thing I believe the difference between now and Indian Wells was I'm moving much better, I'm feeling much better on the court.

Q. You said in here the other day that one of your aims for this tournament was just to have fun on the grass. It feels like you do have fun out on the court. Was there ever a time when tennis wasn't fun or has it always been fun for you?

ONS JABEUR: No, there have been times where you just don't want to stay on the tennis court, you just want to go on vacation somewhere. It becomes very, very tough. I believe tennis is a mental sport. It's a complete sport for me. It requires every inch of your body to be ready, especially your mental health.

Sometimes if I don't focus on having pleasure on the court, that main idea that tennis is fun, it's not just a job that you have to do, that could be very difficult for me to enjoy.

Maybe my creativity and the shots that I do, they won't be there. That's why I always try to enjoy. In a surface like grass, I believe it's a surface that I enjoy so much, I don't know why, more than the others. Maybe because I'm a football fan, and I always enjoy playing football on grass. I feel the connection between both.

Q. I'm curious about your opinion about the flirt of ATP and WTA engaging with Saudi Arabia investors. I know you're a role model for the Arab world, especially for women's sports. The other side it also gives a lot of discussion what you've seen in golf, football now. What is your opinion?

ONS JABEUR: I think is a completely different situation than golf.

If it benefits for the player, I'm 100% there. Again, I said, and I hope in Saudi they will not just invest with ATP, I hope with WTA. I believe in Saudi they're doing great giving women more rights. It's time to change things. Believe it or not, we have the best two womens in Arabic world right now playing in tennis. It's now or never. I hope they really invest in WTA.

I went to Saudi last year, and I was very impressed. I was very impressed with the people there. I believe it could be a great idea to go there and play tournaments.

Yeah, let's see what the deal will be. I hope they will see us for players, not just an investment but to give us more benefits than what we're having right now.

Q. The mental health question. How do you keep your mental health in order? Do you read some books, have some recommendations, some titles?

ONS JABEUR: Well, I have my mental coach with me here. She's helping me a lot. We do meditate. I read some books, I'm not a big reader like Iga, but I try to read from time to time (smiling).

For me, I'm someone that always focus on myself. I try to improve not just on a tennis court but in life in general because it is very important for me to be a good person and able to succeed. It doesn't stop for me as a tennis player, but also as a human being.