'Ronaldo or Beckham?': Ons Jabeur's Love for Football Comes to the Fore at Wimbledon 2023

Ons Jabeur is one of the biggest profiles on the WTA’s roster and she has strengthened her case each time she has taken the court. The Tunisian moved into the third round of the ongoing All England Championships with her win over her Chinese counterpart Zhuoxuan Bai.

Apart from tennis, the 28-year-old is a big fan of football and has showcased her skills with the ball at her feet time and again. During the 2023 edition of the Wimbledon, Jabeur shed some light on her love for the game of football.

Following her first-round win over Magdalena Frech of Poland, the Tunisian superstar was quizzed about her connection to the grass court.

“You can’t have had a too many grass-court where you grew up, so what is this connection with grass-court tennis”, the interviewer asked the 28-year-old.

And without skipping a beat, the Tunisian said, “I played a lot of football when I grew up!”.

“I don’t know. I love football so much and I like to play a little bit,” she continued.

“Maybe that’s why I pretend that I am Cristiano Ronaldo playing here,” she joked, much to the amusement of the English crowd.

And following her second-round win over Bai on Friday, the interviewer spoke to Jabeur about her meeting with English football legend David Beckham, who was at the SW19 recently.

“The other day when you stood here and spoke to us, you talked about your footwork and trying to emulate Ronaldo,” the interviewer asked on Friday.

“Now, I know you went and met David Beckham,” the interviewer continued before Jabeur cut her off with a quick quip.

“I didn’t say Beckham? No, I’m like Beckham, I play like him” Jabeur said in all jest as the crowd cracked up.

“It was a pleasure meeting him, he is such a nice guy and very polite. I’m glad that my husband let me give him a hug,” she joked.

Jabeur is slated to face off against Canadian 23-year-old Belinda Bencic in her third-round fixture at the Centre Court on Saturday.