The Ons Jabeur effect: How Tunisian athletes are reviving individual sports

In the middle of a July afternoon, the Tunisian coffee shops are all full. Not even the 40C heat could stop people all around the country from going out to watch Ons Jabeur compete in the Wimbledon final.

Even though she lost the game, Jabeur's 2022 campaign landed a bigger win: making tennis one of the most popular sports in Tunisia. In the last two years, she has won three major titles (Madrid, Germany and Birmingham), reached two Grand Slam finals, and secured the second spot in the world tennis rankings.

In the history of tennis, no other Arab or African player has even come close to these achievements.

In Tunisia, individual sports are not as popular as team games such as football, handball or basketball. However, the international success of athletes such as Ons Jabeur in tennis has reset the dynamics of sports in the country.

"The impact that successful Tunisian athletes have on Tunisian youth is considerable, giving them hope that it is possible to achieve success on the international stage even with no considerable support from the state"

After Jabeur's exploits, tennis in Tunisia has witnessed massive growth. Last October, the Women’s Tennis Association even organised the first-ever major tournament in Tunisia, the Jasmin Open Monastir.

A similar phenomenon took place with swimming in 2012 after record-breaker Oussama Mellouli got his second Olympic gold medal. “The next year, we didn't have enough spots for all the kids that wanted to swim,” explained a former employee of the Olympic pool of Rades.

In 2021, Khalil Jendoubi won the Taekwondo silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics at only 19 years old, giving a huge boost to a sport already attracting over 30,000 licensed practitioners in Tunisia.

The impact that successful Tunisian athletes have on Tunisian youth is considerable, giving them hope that it is possible to achieve success on the international stage even with no considerable support from the state.

“By proving that it is possible to succeed in tennis, I do believe that Ons’s success gives hope to other athletes in other individual sports, so that they will seek to follow or try to imitate her steps,” former Minister of Sports, Ahmed Gaaloul, told The New Arab. Gaaloul spent a big part of his political career handling sports policies in Tunisia under different governments.

“Ons had to fight, like almost all of her colleagues, to get the minimum of the provided state support…It is sad to note that our system is on many occasions a hurdle to overcome rather than a ladder to climb,” said the former statesman.

Selima Sfar is one of those athletes that opened the doors to Ons Jabeur's recent success after becoming the first Arab woman to reach the tennis top 100 ranking in 2001. At 12 years old, she had to leave Tunisia and battle against stereotypes and a lack of trust in order to achieve her dream of being a professional athlete.

“I had to live in host homes, far from my family. It was truly a heartbreaking experience that showed me how much I wanted it,” Sfar said. She believes that the difficulties Tunisian athletes have to face help strengthen their determination.

“I think that you need to power through those hard times. The Eastern European athletes who make it to the top, like Djokovic, don't have support from their state either. You don't need public funds to run and do push-ups,” explained the former tennis athlete.

She believes that state policies and sports federations need to focus on scouting young talent in order to find and nurture the athletes that have what it takes to make it to the top and support them financially as well as mentally.

Sfar thinks that the impact she had on Tunisian tennis helped the next generation. “It’s always harder the first time…Once it’s done, it helps others believe they can do it. It’s easier, even in terms of human psychology. Plus, no one can tell you it’s impossible, anymore.”

She points to the success of Ons Jaber, as well as the success of the promising swimmer Ayoub Hafnaoui following in the footsteps of the four-time world champion Mellouli.

"Historically, the Tunisian government has chosen to concentrate public investments on already-proven athletes and spending money only at the peak of their career"

Historically, the Tunisian government has chosen to concentrate public investments on already-proven athletes and spending money only at the peak of their career: even the most successful sportsman in Tunisian history, Oussama Mellouli, recently lost his public funding when the swimming federation refused to support him for Tokyo 2022 Olympics.

Without the involvement of private funds, Mellouli would have missed out on his sixth consecutive Olympic games. In other individual sports, Tunisian athletes have difficulty finding support because those private funds are also limited.

“Some athletes like Ons Jabeur, Khalil Jendoubi, and Ayoub Hafnaoui have a few sponsoring contracts that stay undervalued compared to their performances,” Ahmed Adala, a Tunisian sports journalist, told The New Arab.

“Tunisian sports are not only those athletes. Individual sports are an abandoned gold mine. There are hundreds, even thousands, of Tunisians that need to be supported…For a long time, there were public programmes that helped develop athletes. But, now, the country is experiencing a major economic crisis. Sports do not seem to be a priority anymore.”

In June 2022, Hamza Hamry became the first Tunisian to win a mixed martial arts (MMA) championship. The promising MMA fighter has strong feelings about the government’s policies toward individual sports.

“I don’t see any support for individual sports. They only care for football and nothing else,” says the fighter, while emphasising that individual sports have achieved more for Tunisia than collective sports.

Hamry revealed to The New Arab that even he has difficulties obtaining visas in order to travel to his fights.

This situation is common in Tunisian individual sports. Azza Besbes won 45 medals in her fencing career. Five years ago, she had to put her career on hold because the Tunisian federation didn’t give her the resources needed to treat her injury. The Tunisian champion broke down in tears during an interview on national radio.

Last summer, pole vaulter Dorra Mahfoudhi had to compete in the African championship without her vaults due to budget restrictions from the federation.

The two-time African gold medalist revealed that the Tunisian Athletics Federation didn’t even organise a training camp before the tournament. Still, she managed to bring home an impressive silver medal.

Ons Jabeur’s recent achievements and success are proof that Tunisia is filled with world-class raw talent that requires support from their country to reach the international level. 

Amine Snoussi is a political analyst based in Tunis.

Follow him on Twitter: @amine_snoussi