7/17/23, 10:54 AM
Ons Jabeur has secured her legacy - Grand Slam title will be cherry on cake
TENNIS
Ons Jabeur has secured her
legacy - Grand Slam title will be
cherry on cake
Tunisian's latest Wimbledon final defeat does not change fact she is already tennis
trailblazer
An emotional Ons Jabeur after her defeat to Marketa Vondrousova in the Wimbledon final on July
15, 2023. PA
Reem Abulleil
Jul 16, 2023
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7/17/23, 10:54 AM
Ons Jabeur has secured her legacy - Grand Slam title will be cherry on cake
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It’s understandable when elite athletes measure their success or failure by
wins and losses.
Most of them set goals that are tied to records, numbers, rankings, or titles –
it’s easier to strive for something that is quantifiable and concrete.
Many fans, in turn, follow suit and view sport the same way; equating
greatness with championship wins, and mediocrity with defeats.
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If you’re a champion, you’re supposed to win;
if you didn’t, then you choked. If you’re an
underdog that won just once, you’re a fluke …
labels are slapped on athletes so fast and
they often stick.
I get it. If a sports fan is not invested in the outcome of a match or race or
tournament then what’s the point of watching? Of course, wins and losses
matter but every once in a while an athlete comes along and reminds us
that sport can be much bigger than that.
On Saturday at Wimbledon, Tunisian Ons Jabeur was bidding to become the
first African-born player in history to win a Grand Slam singles title.
As the No 6 seed, contesting her third major final, with a superior record on
grass against an unseeded opponent in Marketa Vondrousova, Jabeur was
considered the favourite.
She had also knocked out four consecutive Grand Slam champions en route
to her second Wimbledon final in a row. She got there the hard way and was
expected to win by many pundits and fans.
She ended up losing in straight sets and looked devastated and
inconsolable when she addressed the crowd on Centre Court during the
trophy ceremony and reporters later in her press conference.
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Ons Jabeur has secured her legacy - Grand Slam title will be cherry on cake
In victory and in defeat, Jabeur wears her heart on her sleeve – what more
can a sports fan ask for?
The always smiling Jabeur could not hold back her tears and many of those
listening to her words from the stands or watching on TV sobbed along. In
the locker room after the match, Kim Clijsters, who lost her first four Grand
Slam finals before becoming a four-time major winner embraced Jabeur and
cried with her.
All over Twitter, fans and peers of Jabeur, alike, flooded our timelines with
messages of support for the Tunisian, assuring her “your time will come”.
In many ways, her time has already come and she’s in the thick of it right
now. Jabeur didn’t have to win on Saturday to make history; as a Tunisian,
African and Arab woman, she has already pulled off countless
unprecedented feats.
Before Jabeur, no Tunisian/Arab/North African-born tennis player – man or
woman – had made it past the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. None had
won a WTA title, none had been ranked higher than 75 in the world, none
had cracked the top 10, none had qualified for the WTA Finals.
Even as a 16-year-old, she made history as the first Tunisian female to win a
Grand Slam junior title.
I spoke to two Moroccan teenagers who were contesting the girls’ singles
and doubles events at Wimbledon this week – Malak El Allami and Aya El
Aouni – and they both named Jabeur as their favourite player, and spent a
good portion of our conversation discussing how she raised the bar of what
could be possible for a tennis player from the region.
They said they believe they can pursue careers in tennis because of her and
noted how Jabeur’s determination has driven them to work hard to achieve
their dreams.
Those are just two of thousands of examples of young athletes following
Jabeur’s rise and aspiring to follow in her footsteps.
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Ons Jabeur has secured her legacy - Grand Slam title will be cherry on cake
Because of Jabeur, there is a WTA tournament in Tunisia, bringing the sport
at its highest level to young locals.
Every time Jabeur suffers a heartbreaking loss then gets up the next day,
trains, and steps on a match court to compete again is a lesson for all of us.
She lost the Wimbledon final last year then made the US Open final two
months later. She lost that too, and had a health issue that ruled her out of
the Middle East swing in February.
She then won a title in Charleston in April. She picked up a calf injury later
that month that effectively ended her preparations for Roland Garros. She
then went to Paris and reached the quarter-finals before marching to the
Wimbledon final.
Ons Jabeur of Tunisia looks dejected following defeat to Marketa Vondrousova of Czech Republic in
the Wimbledon final at the All England Club on Saturday, July 15, 2023. Getty
Her entire career has been a relentless pursuit of greatness in the face of
adversity. After winning the French Open junior title in 2011, she spent six
years grinding on the professional circuit before she managed to crack the
top 100.
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Ons Jabeur has secured her legacy - Grand Slam title will be cherry on cake
“I think things take time with me,” said Jabeur on Saturday. “It wasn't meant
to be this time.
“Will definitely keep learning, keep being positive. I think that's the thing
that will keep me going.”
Jabeur may not be a Grand Slam champion yet. But her impact on an entire
region alone suggests her achievements are far greater than that. Her
legacy is already secured. That major trophy will be a nice cherry on the
cake when it eventually comes.
Updated: July 16, 2023, 3:43 PM
WIMBLEDON 2023
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