Ons Jabeur – Photo Credit: Flickr

Ons Jabeur will become the first Arab player to crack the top 10 of the world rankings after reaching the Indian Wells semi-finals. The 27-year old Tunisian said that she is just getting started. 

Jabeur is currently ranked 14^th and she reached the final of the Chicago Fall Tennis Classic earlier this month. She became the first Arab player to win a WTA title at the Birmingham Classic in June.

She defeated Anett Kontaveit of Estonia 7-5 6-3 during Thursday’s quarter-final in the California desert and converted five of her 12 break-point chances on the way to her 48th match win of the season. It was the most of any player on the Tour this season.

“Like this is a dream coming true. This is something that I’ve been wanting… when I was 16,” said Jabeur. “Top 10 is the beginning. I know I deserve this place for a long time since I was playing well. But I want to prove that I deserve to be here.”

“I’ve been rejected by sponsors because of where I come from, which is so not fair,” said the professional tennis player. “I didn’t understand why before, I accepted it. I am really proud of the person I became today, just not relying on others.”

Everybody probably had a difficult career. I’m not saying I have the most difficult one, said Jabeur. “I didn’t want to depend on a sponsor or someone who doesn’t even care about tennis or sport in general. It gave me the courage to continue and achieve my goals, and I’m in top 10 today.”