Ons Jabeur, a former World No. 2 and three-time Grand Slam finalist, is one of the sport\u2019s defining figures. Her platform speaks to empathy, conviction and a purposeful approach to change.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s French Open has drawn criticism for scheduling women\u2019s matches earlier in the day, limiting their visibility in primetime slots. At a moment when the spotlight hasn\u2019t always been fairly shared, Jabeur didn\u2019t hold back.<\/p>\n
Unfiltered. Unignorable. Unapologetic. Uninterrupted. We\u2019re stepping aside and letting Ons take it from here.<\/p>\n
A lot of amazing athletes have been told the same things over and over. That no one watches. That no one cares. That women\u2019s sport doesn\u2019t ‘move people.’<\/p>\n
Judgment comes quickly, often from those who\u2019ve never even watched a full match.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One empty stadium is held up as proof. The packed ones? Conveniently ignored.<\/p>\n
A missed shot becomes a headline. The hundreds of brilliant ones? Forgotten.<\/p>\n
Still, they show up. Still, they compete. Still, they carry a sport forward on their shoulders.<\/p>\n
When a woman wins 6\u20130, 6\u20130, it\u2019s called boring. Too easy. When a man does it? That\u2019s ‘dominance.’ ‘Strength.’ ‘Unstoppable.’<\/p>\n
When women play with power, they\u2019re told they ‘play like men.’ As if strength, speed or aggression don\u2019t belong in a woman\u2019s game.<\/p>\n
If they celebrate, they\u2019re dramatic. If they don\u2019t, they\u2019re cold. Too emotional. Too distant. Too loud. Too quiet. Too much. Never just right.<\/p>\n
And yet the game keeps rising.<\/p>\n
Coco Gauff leads with fearless belief. Aryna Sabalenka strikes with unmatched power. Iga Swi\u0105tek dominates with calm and precision. Jessica Pegula brings relentless consistency. Paula Badosa fights through every storm. Mirra Andreeva breaks through, young and fearless. Jasmine Paolini lights up the court with fire and courage.<\/p>\n
Elena Rybakina is composed and lethal. Naomi Osaka opened up about the battles off the court and kept showing up. Venus and Serena Williams broke barriers and then broke records.<\/p>\n
The game is full of stories. Of greatness. Of fight. Of grace under pressure. And still many choose not to look. Not to listen. Not to care.<\/p>\n
But belief is not a requirement. Permission is not necessary. Respect may be delayed, but progress isn\u2019t waiting.<\/p>\n
So when the headlines say ‘no one watches,’ remember: Full stands were just never part of their narrative.<\/p>\n
When the narrative says ‘too easy,’ look closer: It took years to win that fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
And when someone says women don\u2019t play with power, watch again and be honest this time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The game is not asking to be seen. It\u2019s already shining.<\/p>\n
No one\u2019s denying the greatness in men\u2019s tennis. The fierce battles, the legacies, the magic under pressure.<\/p>\n
But honoring one side of the sport shouldn\u2019t mean ignoring the other.<\/p>\n
The women\u2019s game has been writing its own legacy loudly, brilliantly and for far too long without full recognition.<\/p>\n
\u00a0With respect,<\/p>\n
A player who chose this racket out of passion and honors every woman fighting for her place on the court<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ons Jabeur, a former World No. 2 and three-time Grand Slam finalist, is one of the sport\u2019s defining…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":146022,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4105],"tags":[79,1068,661,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-146021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-sports","9":"tag-tennis","10":"tag-text","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114600853053882507","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=146021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/146021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/146022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=146021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=146021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=146021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}