"Last year's heartache only made her want this more" - Tennis world reacts to Ons Jabeur stunning Aryna Sabalenka to reach Wimbledon final

Ons Jabeur rallied from a set down to advance to her second consecutive Wimbledon final by beating Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals of the 2023 edition of the tournament.

The Tunisian put a dent in Sabalenka's hopes of attaining the World No. 1 spot for the first time in her career, as she beat the Belarusian 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 to book her spot in the final. With this win, Jabeur has now qualified for three Grand Slam finals in her last five. The sixth seed is also the first woman to make it to back-to-back Wimbledon finals since Serena Williams.

Reacting to her win on social media, the tennis world, including four-time Grand Slam winner, Kim Clijsters, heaped praise on the three-time Grand Slam finalist.

Brad Gilbert, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick's former coach, took to Twitter to reflect on Jabeur's win and also credit her with preventing Sabalenka from becoming the World No. 1.

"Tremendous effort from Moving on into 2nd consecutive @Wimbledon final, denying Sable for the moment a chance to become world number one."

tremendous effort from Moving on into 2nd consecutive @Wimbledon final, denying Sable for the moment a chance to become world 🌎 number one ☝️

Clijsters, on the other hand, commented on Jabeur's win using puns.

"Onsome win !"

Onsome win ! 💪🏻

One fan, meanwhile, opined that the fact that Jabeur lost in the final last year acted as extra motivation to do better this time.

"Last year's heartache only made her want this more."

Jabeur d. Aryna Sabalenka 6-7(5) 6-4 6-3

A year has passed since Ons made history for Tunisia, but left the court with heartache.

This year, she looks more inspired than ever before.

✅2nd consecutive Wimbledon Final

Last year's heartache only made her want this more.

🇹🇳❤🇹🇳 https://t.co/nhNss1icOc

Another fan stated that Jabeur's draw was one of the toughest and praised her for still managing to qualify for the final.

"Such a bloodbath draw. And she cut through it. Deserves the win the trophy. It's been a long due. Go Ons Jabeur."

@josemorgado Andreescu
Kvitova
Rybakina
Sabalenka.

Such a bloodbath draw. And she cut through it. Deserves the win the trophy. It's been a long due. Go Ons Jabeur.

Below are a few more fan reactions:

@Wimbledon @Ons_Jabeur Ons back in another final!. This time she would be ONS-STOPPABLE indeed!

Become a big fan of @Ons_Jabeur thanks to Break Point. What a performance today. Willing her on for the final this weekend. twitter.com/wimbledon/stat…

Such a good performance by @Ons_Jabeur learning so much from last years final and mentally so strong!
A great run by @SabalenkaA no doubt you will win @Wimbledon soon be very proud.

Now please go and win this thing ONS and bring the happiness to all, you deserve it this year! 🙏 twitter.com/wimbledon/stat…

@josemorgado Seeing Ons win her first GS would be amazing to watch. She deserves it and I hope it happens.

Have always admired & envied #OnsJabeur’s character. A set down, she was trailing 2-4 in the second. Then the longest rally of the match to break back in the 8th game. And the rest is history. The Tunisian is into her 2nd straight #Wimbledon final. Sheer force of personality! twitter.com/wimbledon/stat…

Wimbledon 2023: Ons Jabeur will take on Marketa Vondrousova in the final

Day Eleven: The Championships - Wimbledon 2023

Ons Jabeur has previously lost in two Grand Slam finals, the 2022 Wimbledon and US Open. In her third attempt, she will lock horns with Marketa Vondrousova, who is making the second Grand Slam final appearance of her career.

Jabeur, 28, knocked out four former Grand Slam winners, including the defending champion, en route to reaching the final at SW19 this fortnight. She defeated Bianca Andreescu, the 2019 US Open winner, in the third round.

Jabeur then took out veteran Petra Kvitova, a two-time Wimbledon winner, in the fourth round. Ons Jabeur avenged her 2022 final loss when she beat Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

On the other hand, Vondrousova beat players such as Jessica Pegula, and Elina Svitolina to reach the 2023 Wimbledon final. The Czech finished runner-up at the 2019 French Open, where she lost to Ashleigh Barty.