"In tennis, there is only one winner, Elena stole my title but it is okay, hopefully next time it will be mine" - Ons Jabeur after going down to Elena Rybakina in Wimbledon final
Ons Jabeur fell short in her quest to become the first-ever African to win a Wimbledon title when she went down 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to Elena Rybakina in the final on Saturday.
Over the course of an on-court interview after the match, Jabeur hoped that despite her loss, her achievements would inspire more girls from her country.
“I’m trying to inspire the next generations. I hope they are listening”
@Ons_Jabeur, keep blazing the trail 🇹🇳
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"I love this tournament so much and I felt really sad but its okay. In tennis, there is only one winner and I am sure it has inspired many generations from my country. I hope they are listening."
"Elena stole my title, but it's okay," joked Ons Jabeur, much to the delight of the Wimbledon crowd.
The Tunisian, who played her first-ever Grand Slam final, thanked the Wimbledon crowd for their support and hoped she would win the title next time before going on to greet Muslims around the world on Eid.
"Hopefully, next time will be mine," she said, adding, "I also want to thank this beautiful crowd for their support for the two weeks, it's been amazing. Thank you very much and I just want to wish Eid Mubarak to all Muslims around the world."
"First of all, I would like to congratulate Elena. She played amazingly" - Ons Jabeur
The 27-year-old congratulated Rybakina, who became the first player from Kazakhstan to win a Wimbledon final.
"Thank you guys for your support. I really appreciate it. First of all, I would like to congratulate Elena. She played amazingly. She and her team, great job, I mean they deserve this," Ons Jabeur said.
The third seed began well and won the first set 6-3 before Rybakina bounced back to alter the script and get past her fancied opponent.
Jabuer created history by reaching the Wimbledon final as she became the first Arab woman and also the first from her country to have made the mark. She thanked her team for believing in her and pushing her to do more.
What a run. Thank you @Ons_Jabeur for inspiring us all 🫶
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"I could not have done this without my team there. They always believed in me and pushed me to do more, so thank you for your support and thank you for believing in me," Jabeur said.
Rybakina took an hour and 48 minutes to get past her opponent after stepping up the aggression in the second set and managing to neutralize Jabuer's drop shots before converting them into winners.
After committing 17 unforced errors in the opening set, Rybakina stepped up to the challenge while Jabeur fell apart as the contest progressed.
The 23-year-old fired four aces to win the tournament in a blaze of glory, thus becoming the first Wimbledon champion from the Asian continent.