"I cannot force anything right now; it wasn't meant to be" - Ons Jabeur admits feeling pressured after Wimbledon final loss
On Saturday, Ons Jabeur lost her second straight Wimbledon final, falling to Marketa Vondrousova in the championship round of the 2023 edition. Last year, the World No. 6 was downed by Elena Rybakina in the title bout. In both cases, her opponents won their maiden Slam titles, leaving the Tunisian still hunting for her first.
The 2023 Wimbledon final loss is Jabeur's third straight in the final of a Grand Slam. She lost to Iga Swiatek at the US Open between her back-to-back final runs at SW19.
The former World No. 2 was despondent after the defeat, breaking down in tears before and during the presentation ceremony. She was emotional at her post-tournament press conference too, where she admitted that she was under a lot of pressure both from herself and fans around the world to do well.
On how she plans to cope with the disappointment, the Tunisian said she has no immediate plan and that she doesn't want to force anything. She also accepted that it was not meant to be and expressed hope of learning from the experience.
"I've been having more pressure. The more good results that I do, the more pressure I feel. But it is what it is. Like I said, I cannot force anything right now. It wasn't meant to be. It wasn't. Definitely this match, last year's match, the final of the US Open, will teach me how to win these finals," Ons Jabeur said.
"Will definitely keep learning, keep being positive. I think that's the thing that will keep me going. Otherwise, if I'm going to be depressed about it, it's not going to help much. I'll try to stay positive," she added.
Ons Jabeur acknowledged that it was painful for her to lose her third Slam final in a row. She said she believed she had done everything right this time after her previous losses.
The 28-year-old then proclaimed that she would continue being positive despite her setbacks.
"Because I already lost two finals, and this is the third one. I don't know. I felt I was doing everything right. Again, with the same thing that happened last year," Ons Jabeur said.
"It's painful because you feel so close to achieving something that you want and actually back to square one. Again, just try to get rid of these negative thoughts and continue being positive," she added.
"She was very nice" - Ons Jabeur on being consoled by Kate Middleton after Wimbledon final loss
Ons Jabeur shared a moment with Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, after her Wimbledon final loss, and later expanded on what advice the former Duchess of Cambridge gave her.
Jabeur was all praise for the "very nice" Kate Middleton, and said her words were more or less the same as last year - encouraging her to come back and win Wimbledon soon. The World No. 6 also mentioned how she asked for a hug from her, adding that it was a "nice" moment to have after a painful loss.
"Same thing after last year: to encourage me to be strong, to come back and win a Grand Slam, win a Wimbledon (title). Obviously she was very nice," Jabeur said.
"She didn't know if she wants to give me a hug or not. I told her hugs are always welcome from me. That was a very nice moment, and she's always nice to me," she added.