It doesn't matter, Tunisia or Egypt or Morocco, I really want to see more (Arab) players'
Ons Jabeur's long-stated goal is that her historic exploits on the tennis court lead to more Arab women taking up the sport – becoming the first Arab player to win a Grand Slam in next month's French Open final would do wonders to achieve that.
The 27-year-old Tunisian became a front-rank contender for tennis's greatest prize on clay with her victory over American Jessica Pegula in Madrid on Saturday.
In doing so, the engaging and highly expressive Jabeur wrote another piece of tennis history, being the first Arab or African woman to win a Women's Tennis Association 1000 title.
Her title in Birmingham last year was also the first for an Arab woman player on the circuit, and she is the first Arab player – man or woman – to crack the top 10.
Jabeur welcomes the attention, but she would like to see more company in the locker room on the tour as Arab female players are a rarity. Her compatriot Selima Sfar reached a career-high ranking of 75 in the world in 2001, but there was little progress for other Arab women players until Jabeur came on the scene.
"Being the only Arab is not easy to be on tour right now," she said at Wimbledon last year.
"I just want to say if I did (succeed on tour), it's not impossible. I always try to inspire other generations."
"I just want to say if I did (succeed on tour), it's not impossible. I always try to inspire other generations."
Jabeur said that just as her role model, Morocco’s Hicham Arazi, inspired her, she hopes she can do the same for Arab women.
"Honestly, he really inspired me, and I am trying to do the same here. It doesn't matter, Tunisia or Egypt or Morocco, I really want to see more (Arab) players."