Tunisian bows out of Wimbledon after becoming first Arab woman to reach quarter finals

Ons Jabeur has set a new benchmark for Arab men and women after reaching the quarter finals at Wimbledon this year.

She met second seed Aryna Sabalenka yesterday. The Belarusian, however, ended her Tunisian competitor’s dreams of progressing in the tennis championship with a 6-4, 6-3 win. Yesterday’s contest on Centre Court marked Jabeur’s second Grand Slam quarter-final appearance following the 2020 Australian Open.

Jabeur, the Tunisian number 21 seed, came back from losing four games in a row in the opening set to overpower 2020 French Open champion Iga Swiatek in Monday’s last-16 encounter.

She became the first Arab player, man or woman, to reach the last eight at the All England Club since 1974.

Having notched up a historic win for her country, Jabeur continued her celebrations with several fans waving the Tunisian flag on the sidelines.

“Tunisians are everywhere, I got to say,” Jabeur said. “They were singing actually a football song. I felt the need to sing with them also.”

READ: Tunisian beats Venus Williams to progress at Wimbledon