Ons Jabeur wins opener in Monastir, Tunisia, her first win at a WTA event in Africa

In a career full of firsts, Ons Jabeur got another one on Tuesday at the new WTA event in Monastir, Tunisia, recording the first win of her career at a WTA event in Africa.

The Tunisian trailblazer defeated American Ann Li, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round.

“Ann is a great player—it wasn’t easy,” said Jabeur, who fought off all eight break points she faced in the match while converting four of her own seven break chances.

“I’m very happy I got the win here in Monastir.”

Jabeur has been making history for African women in tennis—at Wimbledon she became the first to reach a Grand Slam final in the Open Era, and at the US Open she became the first woman from the continent ever to reach multiple Grand Slam finals.

And by rising to No. 2 on the WTA rankings earlier this year, she became the highest-ranked player from Africa, woman or man, in either ATP or WTA rankings history.

Needless to say, the crowd was fully in her corner on Tuesday night.

“It was an amazing crowd,” she said in her on-court interview. “All the Tunisian flags everywhere—thank you for coming, and I really appreciate it!”

Now, Jabeur finally has her first win at a WTA event in Africa, though in her time on the tour there haven’t been many WTA events on the continent.

She’s made four appearances at the WTA 250 clay-court tournament in Morocco in the spring—which has rotated between various cities in the country over the years. She fell in the first round in both of her main draw appearances there, in Marrakech in 2014 (to China's Peng Shuai) and in Rabat in 2016 (to Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo). She also fell in the first round of quailfying in 2017 and 2018, when it was also held in Rabat.

The Tunisian has had plenty of wins in Africa outside of WTA events, going 14-1 in Billie Jean King Cup matches over the years (9-1 in Egypt and 5-0 in Tunisia) and capturing four ITF Women’s Circuit titles on the continent (one in Casablanca, Morocco in 2010 and three in Tunis, Tunisia in 2013, 2014 and 2016, the last one being a $50,000 event).

This week, the world No. 2 could get her first WTA title on the continent.