Ons Jabeur met with tennis great Billie Jean King for the first time ahead of her upcoming semi-final match in the Indian Wells Masters.The 39-time Grand Slam winner called Jabeur out of the blue and arranged to meet up earlier this week. King signed a copy of her new book 'All In' for the Tunisian and left a heartfelt message of gratitude and encouragement inside.WTA Insider tweeted some photos of the pair's first meeting and Jabeur can be seen looking admirably at King while she signs her book.The second picture shows the message the former world number one left inside the cover."To Ons, thank you for being such an inspiration for all of us and especially Arabs. Keep going for it!"
Jabeur is indeed an inspiration to her country and also those of her ethnic background. This week, the 27-year-old made history by becoming the first ever Arab tennis player to reach the top ten of the world rankings.
She reached this historic milestone after beating Estonia's Anett Kontaveit in the quarter-final of Indian Wells. Jabeur won in straight sets to secure her place in the final four, where she will face good friend Paula Badosa of Spain.
Her 7-5, 6-3 victory over Kontaveit marked her 48th win of the season, which is more than any other WTA player on tour this term.
Undoubtedly inspired by King's heartwarming words, Jabeur will take to the court at 03.15 BST tomorrow morning to face Badosa. With whom she has already exchanged some lighthearted yet hilarious pre-match words.
The Spaniard beat French Open champion Barbora KrejÄíková in her run to the semi-finals, as well as teen sensation Coco Gauff and three-time Grand Slam winner Angelique Kerber.
The winner of the semi-final clash will take on either Belarusian Victoria Azarenka or Jeļena Ostapenko of Latvia in the grand final, which will take place on Sunday, October 17th.