Thirteen years ago, she was a 17-year-old from Tunisia ranked somewhere past No. 1,000 when the Qatar Total Open threw her a lifeline. Ons Jabeur accepted a wild card into the main draw but, predictably, fell to Virginie Razzano.

In the ensuing years, Jabeur lost four more first-round matches as a wild card and two more in qualifying. 

“Very, very difficult,” Jabeur told wtatennis.com on Sunday. “I would have a difficult draw, I didn’t have any experience, but they didn’t give up on me. They kept giving me wild cards, kept welcoming me here.

Doha: Draws | Scores | Order of play

“I remember all I wanted was to win one match. I decided to play doubles just to get that first win.”

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After three more doubles losses -- and an aggregate record of 0-10 in Doha -- Jabeur finally broke through. She and partner Alison Riske faced match points against Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Kveta Peschke but won 11-9 in the third set.

One year later, just before the COVID outbreak in 2020, Jabeur won three straight singles matches and advanced all the way to the quarterfinals.

“That was the best I played in Doha, to be honest,” Jabeur said. “There was a bit of crowd and I remember the stadium was chanting. I still have the video.”

Since then, Jabeur has created many more memories, reaching three Grand Slam singles finals and No. 2 in the PIF WTA Rankings. She’s struggled recently with injuries and turned 30 last summer, but she’s still at it in this year’s Doha at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open.

On Monday she dispatched McCartney Kessler 6-2, 6-0 to advance to Tuesday’s popcorn match against No. 7 Zheng Qinwen (5 p.m. local time, 9 a.m. ET).

After three straight year-end Top 10 rankings, Jabeur plummeted to No. 42 in 2024. The chief culprits were a dodgy shoulder and a balky knee. Both, she reports, are feeling better. Last week in Abu Dhabi, she played a terrific quarterfinal match against No. 5-ranked Elena Rybakina, losing in a third-set tiebreak.

“To get back to my level and play good against Top 10 players, for me that’s a really great thing,” Jabeur said. “Definitely gives me a lot of confidence and, honestly, looking forward to showing a better level in Doha.”

So far, so great. Against Kessler, a rising American on the cusp of the Top 50, Jabeur was her usual clever, resourceful self. She broke Kessler six times and won the match in 56 minutes. It was her first scoreless set in nearly three years.

It will be more difficult Tuesday. Zheng, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in singles, won both of their previous matches in straight sets, most recently in the fourth round of the 2023 US Open.

Jabeur said she’s learning to listen to her body.

“I am more conscious of it, more confident,” she said. “And I’m trying to be less tough with myself because sometimes that doesn’t help. Definitely a better me this year, on and off the court.

“I’m definitely not the same player, but I believe in myself that I can be back and, hopefully, win my first Grand Slam. I try not to look back at the past but be in the present.”

Jabeur is an icon in this part of the world, the first African and Arab to achieve a number of notable tennis milestones. She was born in Ksar Hellal, Tunisia and grew up in the coastal city of Sousse on the northern tip of Africa.

And while Doha is some 2,500 miles away, across the breadth of the Mediterranean Sea, it became her tennis home. She first played the Arabic Games and other junior events there as a 15- and 16-year-old.

“From Day 1, they have always supported me, even at 17 with no ranking,” Jabeur said. “I would trade a win in any tournament to win this one because it is really special for me to give back after what they have done for me.

“I want to really represent the Arab world very well and this is the most [important] swing for me. I know doing well here will help inspire the next generation.”