There was a time when Ons Jabeur might not have recovered from the deficit she found herself in during the Wimbledon semi-finals. Down a set. Down a break. So close to being just a game from defeat.
She credits her sports psychologist with helping her understand how to deal with those on-court situations, with managing to keep her focus, keep her strokes on-target. Thanks in part to that, and a steadiness down the stretch at Centre Court on Thursday, Jabeur is on her way to a second consecutive final at the All England Club and her third title match in the past five Grand Slam tournaments.
Now she wants to win a trophy. The sixth-seeded Jabeur earned the right to play for one again by beating big-hitting Aryna Sabalenka 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3.
“I’m very proud of myself, because maybe old me would have lost the match today and went back home already. But I’m glad that I kept digging very deep and finding the strength,” said Jabeur, a 28-year-old from Tunisia who is the only Arab woman and only North African woman to reach a major final.
Jabeur will need to get past Marketa Vondrousova, a left-hander from the Czech Republic, on Saturday. Vondrousova became the first unseeded women’s finalist at Wimbledon since Billie Jean King in 1963 by eliminating Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-3 earlier Thursday.
So far, Jabeur is 0-2 in Slam finals after losing to Elena Rybakina at the All England Club last July and to Iga Swiatek at the U.S. Open last September.
Jabeur’s victory Thursday, which came by collecting 10 of the past 13 games, prevented No. 2 Sabalenka from replacing Swiatek at No. 1 in the rankings. Sabalenka went into the match with a 17-1 record at majors in 2023, including a trophy at the Australian Open.