“Lucky charm” Ons Jabeur snaps five-match losing streak in Stuttgart 

Tunisia’s Minister of Happiness is smiling again—and Stuttgart seems to be the lucky charm.

Over the weekend, No. 7 seed Ons Jabeur was all smiles as she took a break from her preparations for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix for a quick trip to check out the local football club. (And we do mean “quick”, as VfB Stuttgart’s home stadium MHPArena is located directly adjacent to the Porsche Arena, separated from the tennis and events venue by just a short walkway.)

The pair watched Stuttgart shut out Frankfurt with three goals from the hosts in the first half, before Jabeur found herself back at the stadium a few days later enjoying a tour of the grounds—courtesy of goalkeeper Fabi Bredlow.

An enthusiastic football fan who normally cheers for Real Madrid, Jabeur showed off her skills as the pair also played a bit of keepy uppy before the pair snapped all the obligatory photos.

“Watching the match on Saturday and then being here today, I couldn’t ask for more…” Jabeur told Bredlow as the pair wished each other good luck on their next matches. Stuttgart players will be hitting the road to play Werder Bremen in Bundesliga, while Jabeur got her campaign up and running at the WTA 500 event.

Jabeur was made to work in her opening match against Ekaterina Alexandrova on Wednesday, coming back from a set down to win 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1) and snap a five-match losing streak along the way. The 29-year-old has been struggling with a knee injury, winning her first match since her 6-4, 6-1 victory over Emma Raducanu in February.

WATCH: Ons Jabeur pulls off comeback against Ekaterina Alexandrova in Stuttgart | MATCH POINT

“She’s such an unbelievable player, I mean everybody knows her. She plays really well, and recently she won against the world No. 1. Definitely, it was a very tough matchup, but I’m glad that I got the win,” Jabeur said of Alexandrova during her on-court interview.

The world No. 9 also gave a shout out to all the fans in Stuttgart supporting her, which as always included a vocal pocket of Tunisian fans.

“Tennis is such a tough sport and it’s been such a tough period for me, so even confidence-wise I’m trying to build it up,” she admitted, adding, “Very grateful to be Tunisian, because wherever I go I find them!”

Jabeur will face Jasmine Paolini on Thursday, after the Italian routed countrywoman Sara Errani 6-1, 6-0 to advance to the second round.