On Saturday, Tunisia's Ons Jabeur stepped foot in court looking to script history. With all bets on her, Jabeur eyed the Wimbledon 2023 Trophy. However, Czech Republic's Markéta Vondroušová emerged winner by defeating Jabeur in straight sets.
From 128 players who set eyes on the Venus Rosewater Dish at the beginning of the match a fortnight ago in Wimbledon, it was down to Jabeur and Vondroušová, and the two players played their best tennis.
Jabeur, who was the runner-up at Wimbledon 2022, had also made it to finals of the US Open final but lost to Iga Swiatek in the intense match. The 28-year-old is setting new records for herself and her nation, and she is just getting started.
10 Facts About Ons Jabeur
1. Ons Jabeur’s mother was an amateur tennis player who gifted a tennis racket to her daughter at the age of three. Now, two decades later, Ons Jabeur is ranked No. 6 in the world and playing in the finale of Wimbledon 2023.
2. This is the third time she is participating in a Grand Slam final. Jabeur is the first North African woman, the first Arab woman, and the first Muslim woman to make it to the Grand Slam final. The first time she was beaten by Elena Rybakina, however, she made it to another final a few months later.
3. She won the junior French Open in 2011, and slowly made her name in global rankings. She reached the top 100 in 2017, and in 2020, she made it to the top 50.
4. Ons Jabeur's breakthrough moment arrived in 2022, when at the Madrid Open after she played doubles with Serena Williams at the Eastbourne International.
5. She began training at the age of four. She had no other option but to train at a local hotel at the age of 10, as her club had no facilities. When Ons Jabeur was 10 years old, she told her mother Samira that one day she would buy her coffee at the Roland Garros. Jabeur was raised in the Tunisian coastal city of Sousse.
6. Her mother was a huge support system and pushed her to move 90 miles to the capital, Tunisia when she was just 12 years old. The 28-year-old tennis player recalled her mother travelling with her and taking her to matches everywhere in Tunisia. In 2011, Jabeur was selected to play on the International junior circuit, and she won the junior French Open.
7. Ons Jabeur gained fame as an adult in 2013 when she moved into the top 200 in the world. Since then, she had been rising steadily throughout the decade before reaching the US Open third round in 2019. Her performance won her an Arab Woman of the Year award in the sports category.
8. In 2020, she reached the top 50 in the world after reaching the quarterfinals at the Australian Open. She also played in the third and fourth rounds at Roland Garros and the US Open.
9. She defeated five-time champion Venus Williams at Wimbledon 2021 and became the first Tunisian player to reach the tournament’s quarterfinals. She also became the first Arab player to rank in the world's top 10 after winning Indian Wells in 2021.
10. She is married to a former professional fencer and her fitness coach, Karim Kamoun.
Suggested Reading: Marketa Vondroušová Wins Wimbledon 2023: 10 Facts About Her
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