MADRID: There is a quote from the animated movie “Ratatouille” that Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur loves.

The character, chef Auguste Gusteau, says: “You must be imaginative, strong-hearted. You must try things that may not work.

“And you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from. Your only limit is your soul.”

As the highest-ranked African and Arab player in tennis history, Jabeur has certainly never let where she comes from define her limits.

“I love that quote because it connects believing with not giving up.

“‘The only limit is your soul,’ that’s what he says. And honestly that touched me. I love it,” the three-time Grand Slam finalist told Arab News on the sidelines of the ongoing Madrid Open.

Jabeur is a former champion in Madrid. When she clinched the title in 2022, she became the first Arab and African woman to win a WTA 1000 title.

In the weeks that followed, she reached the final in Rome, won Berlin, rose to a career-high ranking of No. 2 in the world and made it to the Wimbledon final.

The 30-year-old’s journey is a series of history-making feats.

And as someone who has inspired millions across the globe, it was particularly meaningful to her when she met another Arab icon on the eve of the Madrid Open this week.

At the players’ restaurant at the Caja Magica, Jabeur and members of her team were spotted dining with none other than Morocco’s Nawal El-Moutawakel.

The Moroccan athlete won the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, to become the first African and Arab woman to win an Olympic gold medal.

Jabeur was thrilled to meet El-Moutawakel for the first time. “She’s amazing,” said Jabeur, who is a three-time Olympian.

“It was such an honor for me to know her personally and to know her stories. She’s so fun, her energy is amazing. And honestly, it makes me feel like a proud Arab woman to meet an Arab icon like that.”

Jabeur has spent the past month on the sidelines recovering from a calf injury she sustained during her third-round clash with Jasmine Paolini at the Miami Open.

She returns to action on Friday in the Spanish capital, where she is due to face Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima in the second round.

“I’m feeling much better. I took my time. I’m glad I took some time off. I took a lot of time to do rehab. And now I’m feeling, let’s put it, 90 percent good,” the Tunisian said ahead of her Madrid opener.

“I spent two weeks (at home in Tunis). I also went to travel a little bit to just enjoy time in France and see my family. But yeah, it’s been so good to be home. I’m starting to like it, which is not a good sign,” she added with a laugh.

“But yeah, really, this year, I just want to listen to my body. I’m done forcing my body to play any tournaments that I don’t feel like playing and just try to enjoy my time as much as I can.”

Jabeur has had bad luck with injuries as of late. She had to shut down her season in early August last year, missing the US Open, due to a shoulder problem, and came back at the start of 2025 in Australia ranked 42 in the world.

Now back in the top 30, Jabeur is pacing herself as she searches for her best form, and says she has been trying to see the positive side of her recent injury hiatuses.

“Sometimes I try to see the good in it. When I get injured, I have so much time at home, which is good, it’s nice. But yeah, I get a little bit tired of coming back to the tournaments, actually.

“But I think, I’m just taking it slow and let’s see what the future holds,” she said.

Whether she is in peak form, or returning from an injury layoff, Jabeur continues to be a positive presence on the tennis tour.

A popular figure among her peers, Jabeur shows up to work every day with a big smile on her face, spreading good vibes on and off the court.

After over a decade on the circuit, what keeps Jabeur eager to wake up in the morning and pick up a tennis racket?

“I have an amazing team, really, with me,” replied the three-time Grand Slam finalist.

“Karim (Kamoun), my husband, my fitness coach, Issam (Jellali), my coach. Now I have my mental coach, Melanie (Maillard), with me. I feel like the discussion around it, everything around it, setting up my goals with them, it’s very important.

And I know that I have an option, if I don’t want to go on court, I would not.

“Maybe before it was a bit difficult. But now I always try to find the motivation. I try to always laugh as well. That helps me a lot to be who I am and not be surrounded by losing or winning and all of that.

“I believe that tennis is always a happy place for me. If one day it’s not, then there is actually a problem. For now, I’m enjoying it, so it’s good.”

Jabeur has been working with her psychologist Maillard since 2017 and the Frenchwoman travels with her to a few tournaments every year.

Psychology is a subject Jabeur is particularly interested in, and she has boundless curiosity, not just to better understand herself, but others around her as well.

“That’s why I honestly have no hate for no player, because everybody is coming from a different background. Everybody has their own hurt. And I don’t know what they have been through.

“So I really try not to judge,” she added.

“Melanie helps me with the stress before the matches, anxiety, everything around. Understand the player that I am, understand my worth.

“Because I’ve seen so many successful human beings, not only tennis players, but there’s always that insecurities like, am I good enough? Am I going to make it, you know?

“And it’s fascinating that no matter how big the result is, we can doubt ourselves a lot.”

MADRID: Home-crowd favorite Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open on Thursday because of muscle injuries, saying he didn’t want to risk making things worse before the French Open.
The third-ranked Spaniard blamed his injuries on the “really tight” schedule that is part of the “demanding sport” of tennis.
Alcaraz said he has not fully recovered from the upper leg ailment that bothered him during the Barcelona Open final last Sunday. He also said he has a left leg injury. His first appearance at the Caja Magica in Madrid was scheduled for Saturday.
Alcaraz is a two-time champion in Madrid, having won in 2022 and 2023. He was the second seed this week and in the same half of the draw as Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz said he did “everything possible to play” but had to make the “tough decision” to withdraw after listening to his body and talking to doctors.
“Madrid is one of the special tournaments for me, it’s a tournament that I enjoy, I get to play in front of my fans, it’s one of the first tournaments I attended when I was a kid,” Alcaraz said. “These types of decisions are not easy to make but sometimes you have to think about your health and about what is important. A Grand Slam is a Grand Slam. If I play here, I could make the injuries worse and stop for several months and that’s not worth it.”
He said he felt “secure” about recovering in time to play next month at Roland Garros, where he is the defending champion. He won the Roland Garros final last year against Alexander Zverev, who has just leapfrogged the Spaniard to No. 2 in the world after winning in Munich last week.
“I’m not really worried about it,” Alcaraz said. “I believe it’s going to take one week, one week and a half, two weeks maximum, but I won’t have doubts about coming back and moving 100 percent again.”
He said he plans to play in Rome ahead of the French Open, which begins on May 25.
“My mindset is to do everything it takes to be a hundred percent for Rome. I will do some tests at the beginning of next week just to see how it’s improved, and from that let’s see how it’s going to be the next days,” he said. “My hope is to play in Rome. If not, next tournament is Roland Garros for me. So I will try to be on court as soon as possible.”
Alcaraz needed treatment on his leg during his straight-set loss to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final. He had not practiced in Madrid yet, and said this week that he felt “fine” but was waiting on medical test results to determine whether he would play.
Alcaraz, who will turn 22 on May 5, won in Monte Carlo to start his clay-court campaign and on a nine-match winning run until the Barcelona final. He said he later also felt pain in a muscle in his left leg.

Demanding sport
Alcaraz vowed to “come back stronger” but complained of the tennis schedule.
“Tennis is really a demanding sport,” he said. “Playing week after week, so many matches in a row, and you have to heal your body sometimes and take difficult decisions.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion has a 24-5 record this year. In addition to Monte Carlo, he also won in Rotterdam on hard court in February.
“The schedule is really tight, really difficult tournaments week after week, and sometimes you have to think about yourself sometimes, and make the right decisions as to your health.”