Ons Jabeur gets her revenge in Charleston, edges past Belinda Bencic in final rematch

WATCH: Ons Jabeur defeats Belinda Bencic at the 2023 Credit One Charleston Open final

Ons Jabeur is officially back. But don’t take her word for it, in case her romp to the Credit One Charleston Open title without dropping a set wasn’t convincing enough. Just listen to the way Jabeur’s opponents have been talking about her all week.

“She’s baaaack!” said Daria Kasatkina, speaking to Tennis Channel’s Steve Weissman—a day before Jabeur won their semifinal match 7-5, 7-5.

“I’m glad you’re back,” said Belinda Bencic on Sunday, holding the runner-up trophy after her own defeat to the Tunisian in the final. “Tennis is amazing with you. I mean, it’s a pain playing against you… but for tennis, you are great.”

In a rematch of last year’s Charleston final, Jabeur held her nerve during the important moments—including saving two set points in the first set—to defeat Bencic 7-6 (6), 6-4.

“We both have one big trophy and one small trophy now,” Jabeur joked during the trophy presentation. The victory marks Jabeur’s first title in the United States—she was 0-4 in those finals coming into the match—and her fourth WTA title overall.

It also kickstarts her season in earnest, as the 2022 Wimbledon and US Open finalist had struggled to win back-to-back matches during the start of this year. The WTA 500 event is Jabeur’s second clay court title, and her first trophy since 2022 Berlin.

Her clay-court prowess was on full display on Sunday against Bencic, as she used her own shotmaking to match the Swiss player’s creativity. Jabeur’s serve marked the difference across both sets, as she won 70 percent of points (32/46) behind her first serve and served up eight aces.

Afterward, Jabeur showed why her nickname on tour is the Minister of Happiness. Her attention to detail was impeccable during the trophy ceremony, from gifting the departing Charleston tournament manager Eleanor Adams a commemorative “Yalla Habibi” shirt, to highlighting her own team’s resilience at having to watch her carbo-loading in Charleston during Ramadan.

“The season starts in Charleston,” Jabeur said before the tournament. Now back to world No. 4 and with a slate of European red clay tournaments ahead of her, Jabeur seems to have finally found the reset button.