- Piers Edwards
- BBC Sport Africa
6 hours ago
After tasting the delight of the Tunisian public’s great love thanks to her historic success in reaching the Wimbledon tennis final, Anas Jaber may have smiled at herself, remembering that her popularity was at stake in her motherland.
Just two years ago, some Tunisians described Jaber, who became the first African and Arab woman to reach the final of a Grand Slam tennis tournament last month, as a “traitor”, even receiving death threats.
“It was a very difficult period for me,” the 27-year-old tennis player told the BBC.
She added, “People threatened to kill me because I played [مباراة تنس]”.
Next week, the world number five will repeat her attempt to win her first Grand Slam title at the US Open, after losing to her Kazakh rival, Elena Rybakina, in the Wimbledon final.
Following her run to the final at Wimbledon, Jaber had an interview with Tunisian President Kais Saied, who described her as a “champion that honored Tunisia” and awarded her the Order of Merit in recognition of her achievements.
This represented a noticeable change from February 2020, when the Tunisian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Jaber had acted in contravention of the “official position of the Tunisian state.”
But what sin committed by Jaber?
Jaber’s guilt is that she represented her country against a player selected by the International Tennis Federation in what is now known as the Billie Jean King Cup.
It wasn’t just a tennis match
The problem was that its rival from Israel, which Tunisia does not recognize, was in solidarity with the Palestinians.
“We reject any form of relations with the Zionist entity, even when it comes to sports matches,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“The participation of the women’s national tennis team in a match with the Israeli occupation entity is a violation of Tunisia’s obligations towards the just Palestinian cause,” she added.
The Tunisian Tennis Federation has been known to issue strict instructions to some players who have faced a similar issue, for example when Malik Jaziri was instructed to withdraw from a match against an Israeli opponent in 2013.
This decision led to the International Tennis Federation suspending Tunisia from the Davis Cup for one year.
A month before the Jaber row, the atmosphere was already raging when a politician called for a national inquiry after Aaron Cohen played three matches in Tunisia for Israel, having entered the country on a French passport.
photo released, Getty Images
Despite this, Jaber felt obligated to play both singles and doubles against players from Israel in the Finnish capital, Helsinki.
“I’m not sure anyone outside could understand this, but I can say it was a very serious problem. It wasn’t just a tennis match,” she recalls. “We went through a very difficult time.”
“We were threatened with death. It was dangerous. The messages were on social media,” she added.
So why, given the context and history, did you play and challenge Tunisian mores?
“Obviously it was a very difficult decision,” Jaber explains.
“Everyone knows that we support Palestine, and I hope Palestine will be liberated soon,” she said. “It’s hard to see children dying every day, but it was not up to me to decide.”
“I had no choice. I know that if I don’t play, I will be punished. I may be banned [من اللعب] for two or three years.”
So she played, won both matches and was able to cement Tunisia’s standing in the world of international women’s tennis, even if it entailed fears for her life.
“It wasn’t easy but we had to move on,” she said.
In May, during a match, she became the first Arab woman to win a WTA 1000 title at the Madrid Open.
Jaber spoke clearly against mixing politics and sports in response to a question about the ban on players from Russia and Belarus at Wimbledon.
She then recalled her experience in Helsinki, saying – at the time – that she had “always been told…never to confuse” the two.
“That’s why I said don’t confuse sports and politics, because it was a very difficult time,” added Jaber, who her fans call “Minister of Happiness.”
Her experience in 2020 has made her more resolute than ever in her opinions, as she said she was “confused” when players from Russia and Belarus were banned from Wimbledon.
“I know my position very well,” she added. “Sports are meant to be peaceful and not to support war or anything else, for sure.”
“Wide fame” in Tunisia
Today, Jaber has become a huge influence, reaching number two in the world.
This is the highest ranking ever achieved by an African and an Arab, whether women or men.
photo released, Archyde.com
And during Wimbledon itself, Tunisia got into a tennis frenzy, says local reporter Souhail Khemira.
“People gathered around the TV screen to watch Anas. Her news spread all over social media, it dominated the news bulletins and it was the highlight of those weeks,” Khameera told the BBC.
“People are now more interested in tennis, which was never the case. Talking about tie breaks and serve is a language that Tunisians are not used to but they are learning. Jaber was hugely popular during Wimbledon.”
Jaber has greatly boosted the popularity of tennis in her country, not only in terms of the number of participants, but also in terms of their gender, with more girls and women playing tennis than ever before.
“We cannot thank her enough,” Salma Mouelhi, president of the Tunisian Tennis Federation, told the BBC.
“She brought joy and happiness to every Tunisian house. I waved the Tunisian flag and raised it high,” she added.
She added, “I was in London and saw the love of all Anas fans. When you see everyone from all over the world applauding her, this is the best picture of Tunisia.”
“The whole nation is proud. We are so grateful as a union,” she added.
With President Saeed wishing her success in the future, a success that will resume next week in New York as she seeks her first title in one of the four Grand Slams, it appears that Jaber is heading towards enhancing the remarkable impact he is making on Arab and African tennis.