DUBAI: Last year was not one that Tunisian tennis superstar Ons Jabeur will remember with great fondness.

Having enthralled fans with her unique brand of tennis in the two previous years, reaching two Wimbledon finals and hitting the world No.2 ranking, 2024 was beset by injuries and disruptions.

As Jabeur prepares to launch her Australian Open campaign against Anhelina Kalinina of the Ukraine, she is determined to get back to the form that her army of supporters had come to expect of her.

鈥淚鈥檓 feeling much better, happy to be back,鈥� she told Arab News. 鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 playing good, I鈥檓 getting back into the game. I feel very motivated and definitely very positive. I can continue playing even better and the good news is there are a lot of great things to improve.鈥�

Since landing in Australia at the start of the year, Jabeur has taken part in the Brisbane International, where she reached the quarterfinals, as well as the Adelaide International. Improving her form, and not her current WTA world ranking of 39, is the priority.

鈥淚 feel like ranking maybe would be a bit irrelevant in this case because if I focus a lot on it, I might kind of not see the level that I was in (before). I was in the top 10 for a good time and I think I need to always remember that I have that level to be one of the great players in the world.

鈥淚 always say the most important thing is that I should have the level and the ranking will follow up no matter how much time it will take.

鈥淚t is very important for me to get back to my game, and definitely improve a lot of points in my game. That would help me be a better player, especially, playing against these unbelievable players, they鈥檙e improving all the time and tennis is improving all the time. And I think it is really important for me to keep up with that game.鈥�

Despite a tough year, Jabeur is now looking forward to mixing it with the next generation of players, for whom she has plenty of praise.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very impressive. A lot of things are growing very fast, (there are) a lot of unbelievable players,鈥� she said.  鈥淵ou can see the level is super close between different players and it鈥檚 definitely an honor for me to be part of this generation, they are younger than me, but playing at the same time, it鈥檚 great to see that.

鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely motivating to get back on to the court and try to impose my game, because I know my game is a bit different than any other player and the challenge is kind of exciting.鈥�

The Arab tennis hero is confident that she can return to the form she showed in 2022 and 2023.

鈥淒efinitely, yes. I think it鈥檚 a matter of time, a matter of motivation, and how mentally I feel about it because I always say if you鈥檙e mentally ready, and if in your head you鈥檙e ready, you can achieve anything. I think your body will follow and everything will follow.

鈥淣ow I think I have more experience than in 2022, which is a bonus I could use. But I鈥檓 definitely ready to get back into the game, to fight hard and leave everything on the court.鈥�

Aside from her personal targets on court, Jabeur continues to be an inspiration for young Arab tennis talent, Both female and male.

鈥淥f course, it鈥檚 one of my goals,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ne of my dreams is to see our players playing on tour. I think we have the talent, I think we have so many motivated players to play on tour and I can say nothing is impossible.

鈥淛ust training from Tunisia, I discovered a lot of things and like I said, I鈥檓 happy to share my experience and 鈥� one day when I鈥檓 100 percent focused, on maybe giving back more. That鈥檚 something I really want to do, and I think our region deserves to have more and more champions at international level.鈥�

黑料社区 recently awarded citizenship to 15-year-old French tennis player Maysan Hussein, who is of Tunisian origin, and Jabeur believes such moves can help more players get a platform to realise their potential.

鈥淚 know Maysan, I met her and met her father, very nice people. Every player deserves the support, deserves to be there, deserves to not think about how much everything will cost. They just need to focus on their training and doing their best. And what Saudi and other countries are doing is really great and I hope they can help her and they can set a good program for her. I wish her well.鈥�