3 incredible milestones achieved by Ons Jabeur after reaching the 2022 Wimbledon final
Ons Jabeur fended off a spirited comeback bid from Tatjana Maria on Thursday to move into the summit clash of the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. The Tunisian overcame a second-set stumble to prevail 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
While Jabeur now finds herself one win away from what would be a famous victory at the All England Club, she has already achieved a few incredible milestones following her semifinal win.
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Without further ado, here are three feats that the 27-year-old reached after beating Maria:
#1 Ons Jabeur becomes the first Arab woman to reach Grand Slam final in Open Era
Ons Jabeur made history at the 2020 Australian Open by becoming the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal — losing to eventual champion Sofia Kenin — in the Open Era. She repeated the feat by reaching the last-eight at last year's Wimbledon but suffered another loss against Aryna Sabalenka.
Jabeur, however, has now topped that performance to become the first Arab woman to reach a final at this level. The Tunisian reflected on her trailblazing career after her historic semifinal win, saying she hoped to inspire people from her part of the world to take up tennis.
#2 Ons Jabeur becomes second African player to reach Grand Slam final in Open Era
Ons Jabeur is just the second player from Africa to reach the summit clash at a Grand Slam event in the Open Era, following in the footsteps of South Africa's former World No. 5 Kevin Anderson.
Anderson achieved the feat twice by reaching the men's singles finals of the 2017 US Open, as well as the 2018 Wimbledon Championships — falling short of lifting the trophies on both occasions.
Jabeur will be keen to take that final step in going all the way at a Major when she steps out on Center Court for Saturday's final.
#3 Ons Jabeur becomes third player to register an 11-plus win streak on grass in a season
The grass swing for the WTA Tour comprises only a handful of tournaments leading up to the Championships. The short near-six-week span does not allow players to rack up a lot of match wins.
Ons Jabeur, however, has gotten herself in double figures in terms of match wins after her quarterfinal win — a streak that now stands at 11 and goes all the way back to her title run in Berlin. Only two players — Maria Sharapova (12 wins in 2004) and Serena Williams (13 wins in 2012) — have posted longer win streaks on the surface.