Czechia's Marketa Vondrousova defeated Ons Jabeur 6-4, 6-4 in the Wimbeldon final, becoming the first unseeded woman in the Open era to win the tournament.
World No. 42 Vondrousova (Jabeur is No. 6) is the lowest-ranked woman to make the final since 2018, when Serena Williams was No. 181, and the first unseeded female player to win since Billie Jean King in 1964.
This is the second successive Wimbledon loss for 28-year-old Jabeur, who would've been the first Arab and African woman to win a Grand Slam. But despite having played the best tournament of her life, defeating World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and No. 3 Elena Rybakina, she appeared to struggle under the pressure, making 31 unforced errors throughout and winning just four of ten break points.
Though Jabeur gained confidence in the second set, forcing a 3-1 lead, she conceded five of the last six games and ultimately was worn down by Vondrousova's unpredictability and relentlessness.
For the 24-year-old left-hander, whose promising career has been marred by injuries, the win is a dream come true (and seems to be something of a surprise: they were forced to book a last-minute cat-sitter so her sister and husband could fly in from Czechia to watch the final).
"Tennis is crazy," said the Tokyo Olympics silver medallist after her win, "I really don't know what's happening right now. It's an amazing feeling."
Meanwhile, Jabeur admitted that the loss was the most painful of her career, but vowed, "I'm not going to give up, I'm going to come back stronger, and I'm going to win a Grand Slam one day."
