Ons Jabeur reveals ‘extra sadness’ behind Wimbledon final defeat
Ons Jabeur has revealed she delayed plans to start a family after her Wimbledon final defeat last summer, leading to an “extra sadness” behind her SW19 loss.
Having lost Wimbledon and US Open finals in 2022, the Tunisian defeated Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka on her way to reaching a third Grand Slam final at the All England Club in 2023.
The Tunisian was a warn favourite against the unseeded Marketa Vondrousova but, in a final where both women were affected by nerves, it was the Czech ace who edged her way to a 6-4, 6-4 triumph.
Speaking to The Guardian in Madrid, the world No 9 revealed that she and her husband, Karim Kamoun, had planned to start a family following a potential major triumph and that the loss to Vondrousova led to her halting plans to take time away from tennis.
“That loss was very difficult because it was connected to me being a mother and having a family. So that was an extra sadness for me,” said Jabeur.
“It is what it is – I think it was meant to be. Maybe I’m not ready to be a mum yet. Hopefully I can get that title because I really, really want it.
“Obviously now coming from a couple of very difficult months, I will try to get there and hopefully one day I can be a mum and bring my kid to the tour.
“I’m not getting any younger and I feel like it’s important that I want to come back and have my kid with me on tour.”
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Playing in Madrid this week, the Tunisian has recaptured her best form at the tournament she won two years ago, reaching the last eight in the Spanish capital.
The WTA 1000 event is the first time this season that the former world No 2 has won consecutive matches, after a sorry start to the season which saw her compile a 3-7 record coming in.
Jabeur has been a consistent force towards the top of the game since 2021 and further revealed that she had challenged herself to continue testing her level despite her form – a tactic that may have paid off.
She added: “I was in a super-bad zone and I think I couldn’t handle another loss.
“But I was challenging myself, I was like: ‘OK, I’ve never been in this situation before,’ in being a top player and losing a lot of matches. But I said, also looking at some quotes and everything, for me it’s good to dare to fail.
“I think if you’re a coward, you will not go and try. I didn’t want to be a coward and I wanted to try, even losing but taking the loss with pride.
“That was one thing that I was proud of myself for doing, even though I had a lot of negative thoughts. But it happens, I do accept these negative thoughts and turn them into positive ones.”
