The Minister of Happiness returns, how a Tunisian trailblazer is rewriting what is possible in tennis

In the fast moving and often quite unforgiving world of professional tennis, where promising new names seem to rise and then fade away again with truly remarkable speed, a very select few special athletes somehow manage to leave behind a mark that reaches far beyond the court itself. One such genuinely inspiring figure is a quietly determined young woman from Tunisia, whose remarkable journey has inspired many millions of people right across her home continent and the wider Arab world.

A history making rise

For many long and uninterrupted years, the very top levels of the women's game had remained almost entirely the exclusive preserve of players drawn from a familiar handful of powerful and well established tennis nations across Europe and a few other corners of the globe. Then, step by patient and determined step, a gifted young woman from the north of Africa quietly began to climb her way steadily up the world rankings, rewriting along the way what so many people had always wrongly assumed was even remotely possible.

At the very peak of her considerable powers a few short years ago, she rose all the way up to the second position in the entire global rankings, which was an achievement of genuinely historic and barrier breaking proportions. In doing exactly that, she became the single highest ranked player, whether man or woman, ever to emerge from either the African or the Arab world, carrying the quiet hopes and dreams of countless devoted admirers upon her shoulders.

So close to the ultimate prize

Her sudden and thrilling surge up through the world rankings was carefully built upon a whole series of genuinely thrilling and utterly memorable performances at the sport's very grandest, oldest and most prestigious tournaments of them all. On three completely separate and quite unforgettable occasions, she fought her way all the way through to the final of a major championship, ending up standing just a single match away from lifting one of the most coveted trophies in all of world sport.

On each one of those three agonisingly close occasions, however, the ultimate prize somehow managed to slip just beyond her outstretched and determined grasp, and she was forced to settle instead for the runner up position. Yet even in those genuinely painful and very public moments of narrow defeat, she always carried herself with such natural grace, warmth and quiet dignity that she quietly won over an enormous new legion of loyal admirers right around the globe.

The Minister of Happiness

What has always truly set this remarkable athlete so clearly apart, far more than any ranking or any single trophy ever possibly could, is her wonderfully warm and genuinely infectious personality both on and off the tennis court itself. Her ready and generous smile, her easy and natural laughter and her obvious, undisguised joy in simply playing the game she loves have together made her one of the most widely and deeply loved figures in the entire modern sport.

Back home in her proud and loving nation, this deep and widespread public affection has long since earned her a rather charming and really very fitting unofficial nickname, that of the Minister of Happiness. It is an affectionate title that perfectly captures the sheer delight and the enormous collective sense of pride that her many hard earned achievements have steadily brought to the hearts of ordinary people throughout the whole of her country.

A new chapter off the court

A little over a year ago now, to the genuine surprise and quiet concern of many of her most devoted followers, she calmly announced that she would be stepping away from the relentless demands of the professional tour for an indefinite and unspecified period of time. Rather than being due to any single dramatic reason, this quiet and brave decision reflected a very natural and deeply human desire to pause for a while, to rest properly and to focus her energies on her own personal life.

In the busy and eventful months that then followed, she went on to joyfully celebrate one of the most meaningful and treasured milestones of her entire life, warmly welcoming her very first child into the world earlier this year. For a time, the deafening roar of the great crowds and the bright glare of the famous show courts gently gave way instead to the quieter, softer and altogether different daily rhythms of new motherhood.

The long road back

Now, however, the fierce competitive fire that first drove her all the way to the very top of the demanding sport appears once again to be burning away just as brightly and as insistently as it ever did before. She has made it abundantly clear to all of her waiting supporters that she is by no means finished with the game that she loves so dearly, and that she now fully intends to return to the very highest level of competition before too very long at all.

Thanks to a special and thoughtful provision within the rules, one that was designed quite precisely for valued players returning after a long and significant absence, she will soon be able to enter the biggest tournaments again despite her ranking having very naturally fallen away during her extended time off the tour. Her many loyal fans all around the world are now waiting with genuine excitement and real warmth for the long awaited moment when she finally steps back out onto the court.

More than a tennis player

Whatever the eventual outcome of this hugely anticipated and eagerly awaited comeback may ultimately turn out to be in the end, her lasting and cherished place in the long and storied history of the sport is already completely secure and well beyond any possible shadow of a doubt. She has boldly shattered a great many tired old assumptions, pushed open wide the heavy doors that so many had always believed would forever remain firmly closed, and clearly shown a whole new generation precisely what they themselves might one day truly achieve.

For countless young girls right across the whole of Africa and the Arab world, nervously picking up a tennis racket for the very first time, she now stands as living, breathing and undeniable proof that raw talent, relentless hard work and an unshakeable belief in oneself really can carry a determined person all the way up to the very summit. Her remarkable story, quite simply put, is one that reaches far beyond the painted white lines of any ordinary tennis court.