Just over a week ago, Super Falcons defender Ashleigh Plumptre expressed her desire to meet Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur. The 25 year old made the switch to Al Ittihad in Saudi Arabia this summer, after her contract with childhood club Leicester City expired in July.
It's worth mentioning that players like Karim Benzema and N'golo Kante currently play for Al Ittihad's men's team; and although Plumptre has been around for a while, she hasn't been too eager to meet either of them.
However, the Super Falcons star stated that were she to meet Ons Jabeur, she would be nervous. In a zoom call with Arab News last week, Plumptre said: “When I said I’m not easily starstruck, I think if I saw her (Jabeur) I’d be very nervous. I can’t even fathom that.”
Interestingly, Plumptre finally had the chance to meet the ‘inspirational' Ons Jabeur yesterday in Riyadh. She thanked the three-time grand slam finalist for the opportunity, pointing out that it was an honour to meet the former World number 2.
We would also like to point out that Ashleigh Plumptre represented England's youth teams, up until the U-23 level. However, she opted to play for Nigeria's Super Falcons, where she has earned 15 caps. The 25 year old squared off against England at the knockout stages of the FIFA Women's World Cup earlier this year, as the Super Falcons lost on penalties.
As it stands, Plumptre is eyeing a place in the Summer Olympics in Paris next year. The Super Falcons will have to beat Cameroon in a two-legged tie, as well as South Africa or Tanzania in the fourth qualifying round, for a place in the Olympics next year. On that note, let's talk about Ons Jabeur.
Who is Ons Jabeur?
Like we've previously mentioned, Ons Jabeur is a Tunisian tennis player. However, she has been one of the best players in the World these past couple of years, and was ranked as high as number 2 in the World last year.
At the time of writing, Jabeur is currently sixth on the WTA rankings; she has won five career titles, and reached three grand slam finals. Given that the 29 year old is the highest-ranked African and Arab tennis player in WTA and ATP rankings history, it's no surprise that Ashleigh Plumptre respects and admires her.
