Marketa Vondrousova surpasses Venus Williams to become the lowest-ranked woman to win Wimbledon
Marketa Vondrousova defeated Ons Jabeur to lift her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Vondrousova overcame World No. 6 Jabeur, who was playing her second consecutive Wimbledon final, in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Breaks of serve were plenty in the match, with Jabeur having the advantage in both sets: 0-2 in the first and 1-3 in the second.
However, Vondrousova was able to quash any deficit quickly and vanquish Jabeur's challenge. This was also the Czech player's third win over the Tunisian in 2023, after victories in the Australian Open second round and the Indian Wells Open third round.
In the process, Marketa Vondrousova, ranked World No. 42, became the lowest-ranked women's player to win the Wimbledon title since Venus Williams, who was ranked World No. 31 when she triumphed in 2007. The Czech also become the first unseeded player to lift the trophy at SW19 in the Open Era.
42 - Marketa Vondrousova is the lowest ranked player (#42) to win the Women’s Singles title in Wimbledon since the WTA Rankings were introduced. Incredible.
#WIMBLEDON | @WTA @WTA_insider https://t.co/y8YAl5fDow
This year's Wimbledon final was the second Grand Slam final appearance for the 24-year-old, who previously lost to Ashleigh Barty in the 2019 Roland Garros final.
Vondrousova's historic run at Wimbledon featured wins over Elina Svitolina in the semifinal (6-3, 6-3), No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula in the quarterfinal (6-4, 2-6, 6-4), No. 32 Marie Bouzkova in the fourth round (2-6, 6-4, 6-3), No. 20 seed Donna Vekic in the third round (6-1, 7-5), No. 12 seed Veronika Kudermetova in the second round (6-3, 6-3), and Peyton Stearns in the first round (6-2, 7-5).
Marketa Vondrousova also joins fellow Czech stars Jana Novotna (1998) and Petra Kvitova (2011 and 2014) as the third woman from her country to win the Wimbledon title.
Marketa Vondrousova to become World No. 10 after Wimbledon triumph
Marketa Vondrousova will break into the top 10 rankings and attain her career-best ranking of World No. 10 on Monday. The Czech gained 2000 points for the title win at SW19, helping her jump 32 spots with 3106 points.
Vondrousova's previously career-high ranking was World No. 14, which came on July 1, 2019, after her final appearance at the 2019 Roland Garros. During that run, she defeated four seeded players before losing to No. 8 seed Barty in the final 6-1, 6-3.
The 2023 Wimbledon title is Vondrousova's second title on the WTA Tour. Her first title came at the 2017 Biel Open in Switzerland, which the Czech won at just 17 years old, defeating Anett Kontaveit in the final.