Ons Jabeur needs to deal with the pressure better to win a major. It looks like it’s hers to lose and that’s exactly what happens.
Tunisia’s unofficial ‘Minister of Happiness’ looked like she had resigned from her post on ladies’ singles finals day at Wimbledon. Ons Jabeur normally brings vivacity and connection on the court, but when she walked to the net after being beaten in straight sets by the excellent unseeded Markéta Vondroušová, the sixth seed was understandably empty inside. Her third straight defeat in a major final was a cruel public torture. The decency of her opponent was the only saving grace.
Losers in Wimbledon finals are always crestfallen. That’s a given. However, Jabeur has now bared her broken soul twice on Centre Court in the space of twelve months. In the 2022 final, she started like a winner, bursting with creative artistry in winning the first set against Elena Ryabinka. Inexplicably, she crumbled in the next two sets. It was hard, but her disappointment was manageable as it was the Tunisian’s first Grand Slam denouement. She would learn to handle negative emotions if such a scenario presented itself again. Unfortunately, sport is brutal and doesn’t hand out sentimental gifts.
Jabeur is not your average tennis player. She has taken the game to a new level of interest in a football-obsessed country torn by an economic and refugee crisis. After losing to Ryabinka last year, she was welcomed like a hero at her home airport. The 28-year-old had become the first North-African and Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final. President Saied presented the player with the National Order of Merit, describing her as the ideal “image of Tunisian youth and Tunisian women who have overcome challenges.”
Jabeur wears the badge of honour with warmth and humility.
