Tennis News: Ons Jabeur, Jannik Sinner and Stefanos Tsitsipas

Ons Jabeur is one of the more popular players in tennis. She is honest when asked questions and seems to be one of us. She is not, of course. She is a much better player than most of us could ever be. But her being open about her feelings only makes us want her to win more, right? And when she struggles, that is also our struggle.

For years, Jabeur didn't reach her goals. She wanted to compete for Grand Slams and she wanted to reach the top ten of the WTA rankings. Jabeur could not beat the top ten players, though, and she could not get her ranking into the top 50. But then the 2020 Australian Open changed everything. She made the quarterfinals and that gave her the confidence she needed to become the player she is now.

In a recent interview on the podcast Abtal, Jabeur talked about how making a deep run in a Grand Slam changed her mindset. She began working harder and committing herself to consistently playing her best. She has not yet won a Grand Slam, but she has reached three major finals.

Ons Jabeur works hard and Jannik Sinner gets paid

According to Jabeur, "As soon as I said I want to be a top 10 player, that became my goal. I'm going to do everything for it. For some reason, my mentality changed, and doors started opening in front of me. I met some people along the way who helped me a lot."

Jannik Sinner did just win a Grand Slam, of course. He defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final of the Australian Open in five sets. That was the Italian's first major final and first major victory. That has helped increase his asking price when it comes to sponsorships. One reason is because his number of social media followers grew immensely during his run in Melbourne. His Instagram account went from 1.4 million followers pre-tournament to 1.9 million by the end.

Because of his new fame, Sinner can charge between $16,300 and $19,500 for each sponsored post on his IG account, according to a study by KingCasinoBonus.uk and Social Blade. In other words, it pays to win. Literally.

Stefanos Tsitsipas might be happy with third or fourth place

Speaking of winning, that is not something either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Alexander Zverev have done at a Grand Slam event. Both players are very good, but they simply do not seem good enough to beat players who appear to be a notch better than they are, such as Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic. But will they ever win a major?

Tennis commentator Arnaud Clement does not believe so. Clement told L'Equipe, "I no longer put Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev or (Andrey) Rublev in the same category as (Sinner). I still don’t see those guys lifting a Grand Slam trophy." Cannot say it any more plainly than that.

Read more from Lob and Smash