Jabeur made us laugh, gasp, hope and cry. She got off to a slow start, retiring in her first tournament, missing the Australian Open with the same injury, and scratching out only a few wins afterward. But she was thoroughly reborn on clay. She finished runner-up in Charleston, then won Madrid for her first WTA 1000 title (after losing the second set of the final 6-0). She kept rolling in Rome, saving match point in the semifinal versus Daria Kasatkina and losing only to the unstoppable Swiatek—but avoiding the world No. 1’s signature bagels and breadsticks.
Jabeur entered the French Open with a No. 6 seed and a tour-leading 17 wins on clay. With flamboyant game nearing full flight and taking fans on a joyride of variety, Jabeur was given a puncher’s chance by experts to upset Swiatek, The Pole might have inherited Barty’s crown, but Jabeur was her stylistic successor—a heavy forehand, weaponized slice, drop shots galore, and the best hands on tour.
But the French Open was a flop. Jabeur went out in the first round to No. 52 Magda Linette, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5. In the final set, serving at 5-6, 40-love, Jabeur hit an overhead directly back to Linette and didn’t win another point. She explained afterward that this was the first time playing a Slam with expectations, and they got to her.
“Obviously I was expecting better,” she said in the post-match press conference, “but maybe it’s a good thing for me to reflect good on this match. We say maybe something happens bad because there is something good happening in the future. Hopefully in the grass season, hopefully Wimbledon.”
How about sooner? Jabeur bounced back from the loss right away, winning a grass title in Berlin. When Belinda Bencic retired in the final with a hurt ankle, Jabeur comforted her with sincere warmth, then hit all the right notes in the trophy ceremony: