Ons Jabeur confirms she has a pretty good relationship with Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka off the court and also funnily revealed that they have gossip sessions.
On the WTA Tour, the Tunisian tennis star is widely regarded as one of the friendliest and most likable players in the locker room – so it is never surprising to hear that she is good with someone.
On the other side, it is also not a secret that Badosa and Sabalenka are one of the closest friends on the Tour and often even refer to each other as “soulmates.”
“I mean, I’m friends with Paula and Aryna mostly, you know,” Jabeur said on the Nothing Major podcast, which is hosted by John Isner, Sam Querrey, Jack Sock and Steve Johnson.
“We don’t hang out a lot—I probably hang out more with Paula—but, you know, we talk about stuff, we get each other’s opinion about the tour and everything around it. We gossip (laughs).”
Ons Jabeur© Nothing Major Podcast/YouTube
Jabeur cracks a Carlos Alcaraz joke
The Tunisian former world No. 2 likes to mix it when on the court and the drop shot is one of her most recognizable assets.
In recent years, Alcaraz also started doing it a lot.
“He has a really good drop shot because he plays tactically with it—he doesn’t always know when he’s going to use it. But I like to say he got inspired by me or something, I don’t know,” Jabeur said.
That’s when Isner chimed in and funnily stated that the Spanish four-time Grand Slam champion should give some credit to the 30-year-old.
“He’s got to give you a little bit of credit, in my opinion,” the former American tennis star said.
Jabeur responded by jokingly requesting a half of the 21-year-old Grand Slams.
“And probably half of his Grand Slams too,” she said.
Meanwhile, Jabeur started her campaign at this week’s Abu Dhabi Open with back-to-back straight-set wins over Jelena Ostapenko and Wakana Sonobe.
In the Abu Dhabi quarterfinal, she plays against Elena Rybakina.
Tennis World USA