Ons Jabeur compares Sabalenka, Swiatek, and Gauff: Who's the most intimidating to face?
WTA
Ons Jabeur chooses her ‘most intimidating rival’ on the WTA Tour, comparing Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff. The 3-time Grand Slam finalist has been pushed out of the headlines due to inconsistent results over the past year, while the top-3 trio has solidified their positions as the leading contenders in every major tournament.
The former world No. 2 knows what it’s like to face each of them, and with 30 years of experience on the Tour, she shared her thoughts on why she considers them the toughest opponents.
"There are a lot of solid players"
Jabeur recently joined Sam Querrey and John Isner on the latest episode of the Nothing Major podcast and explained that, over the years, she has become more accustomed to adjusting to the different playing styles of her opponents. However, she mentioned that world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka was one of the hardest to face.
“I used to hate playing against Aryna (Sabalenka), because the way she hits the ball, I basically could not see it, and I get frustrated by the speed of the ball,” Ons Jabeur said. “But people would tell you ‘oh, you have the touch,’ I think speed definitely beats the touch because, if I cannot find it, I cannot do it, so one of the players I didn’t like to play is Aryna,” she added.
Querrey, however, asked if there was a player she considered the most "intimidating" to face. “There are a lot. I think Iga (Swiatek) is a pretty solid player,” Jabeur claimed. “She does not give you any free points, which is kind of difficult to play against.”
“Coco (Gauff) is really amazing too, she plays unbelievable tennis. There are a lot of solid players where you have to be, if not 100%, very close to it to play on that day.”
Jabeur earned a couple of wins at the Australian Open against Anhelina Kalinina and Camila Osorio, both in straight sets, before facing Emma Navarro in the third round. Despite being a break up in the third set, the American mounted a comeback and sent Jabeur out with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 victory. The former No. 2 will return to the courts this week at the WTA Abu Dhabi Open, where she will debut against Jelena Ostapenko (7th seed).
ONS-TOPPABLE 🇹🇳@Ons_Jabeur produces a stunning comeback against No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka to reach the ladies’ final, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 🙌#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/cFSnkIn55Y
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 13, 2023
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mandoist04-02-2025 - It sounds seriously absurd that in Davis Cup, (unlike Grand Slams such as the Aus Open), medical time outs off court with the medical staff are not allowed?? I mean, if this was an Aus Open match, and the same thing happened to Gurin then, he would have been able to go off court for official medical time out and make an informed decision whether to resume the match or retire. How come such conditions do not apply in Davis Cup?? I mean, there with Davis Cup, it is even more like a soccer match or basketball game in that teams are playing. And so as with those, it ought to be the case in tennis that if a player needs serious medical time out, then one of the other team mates ought to substitute and each team needs to have stand-ins or understudies in case substitution is needed which will be rare but as we can see here, this kind of circumstance fits. But even if the teams do not go down the road of subbing other team mates in, in case of a health issue like the one which played out here, at least, as in the Aus Open and other Grand Slams, there ought to be time-outs with the health professionals and at the conclusion of these time-outs, the particular decision that has been reached between them and the player needs to be taken on board by the umpire. PERIOD.
Sueiyin04-02-2025 - "If Novak did this, he would be defaulted for life. WTF." 🤣 WTF sounds like What Tennis Fury?! What Tennis Flurry??! I mean, se-rious-ly, it was actually the unfairness of the silly umpire's decision that is the issue here! Further, how come it was Gurin & his team who got disqualified? If this kind of thing happens in soccer, it would be the other guy getting the yellow or red card! Because after all, it was the Belgian who's foul it was so why then penalize the opponents for something they didn't instigate? Fouls in both basketball and soccer are read as a hinderance that has been caused by the player who INITIALLY instigated the hinderance. In this case, okay, it is tennis, but while the precise rules are different to either soccer or basketball, the same type of recognition as to whoever instigates a hinderance should apply, and in this case, it was the Belgian player.Sueiyin04-02-2025
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- Well said.mandoist03-02-2025
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