Wimbledon 2023: Marketa Vondrousova defeats Ons Jabeur for first Slam title

Marketa Vondrousova defeated Ons Jabeur 6-4 6-4 to become the first unseeded Wimbledon's women's singles champion on Saturday (15 July).

Jabeur was seeking to become the first African women to win Wimbledon in the Open era and the first Arab woman to win a Grand Slam tennis tournament.

But an error-strewn display left her having to settle for the runner-up spot just as she did 12 months ago, and she called this "the most painful loss of my career" in her on-court interview.

As she struggled to hold back the tears, she added, "I promise I will come back one day and win this tournament."

A year ago, Vondrousova had her wrist in a cast after surgery and was unsure whether she would be able to return to the top of the sport having reached the 2019 French Open final and won silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in 2021.

As she held the Venus Rosewater dish, she said, "Tennis is crazy! The comebacks aren’t easy... you don’t know what to expect, I was hoping I could get back to this level and now this is happening."

The 24-year-old, who has become recognisable for her tattoos on her arms and had no sponsor during this tournament, celebrates her one-year wedding anniversary on Sunday. And as well as marking the occasion with husband Stepan Simek, she revealed she has another plan for her coach Jan Hernynch.

"I made a bet with my coach. He said that if I won a Grand Slam he was going to get one (a tattoo) also. I think we are going to go tomorrow!"

Vondrousova is the fourth Czech - after Martina Navratilova, Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova - to win the Wimbledon women's singles title.

Vondrousova wins battle of nerves to claim Wimbledon title

After holding serve without too many issues in the opening game, Jabeur converted her second break point to take a 2-0 lead with the Centre Court roof closed due to high winds.

But the sixth seed from Tunisia appeared to struggle with the lack of pace on shots coming from the other side of the net, certainly compared to reigning champion Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka who she had beaten in her previous two matches.

A nervy-looking Vondrousova broke back for 1-2 before a lengthy fourth game, with both players showing their subtlety and variation, which eventually yielded the Czech's first service hold of the match.

Jabeur then broke to love to lead 4-2 and seemingly take a grip on the first set. But a number of missed first serves helped Vondrousova break back to love and, when she sent a routine forehand volley wide, the underdog took full advantage to break again for a 5-4 lead.

Vondrousova held to love to take the first set 6-4 with Jabeur winning just one point in the last four games.

After taking a toilet break, Jabeur put an easy backhand volley into the net and sent a down-the-line backhand wide prompting the crowd to voice their encouragement.

They were vocal again when another unforced error set up another break point, and a forehand into the net handed Vondrousova the early initiative in the second set.

The errors continued to flow thick and fast from Jabeur's racket as Vondrousova moved quickly to 40-0. But then an acute backhand cross-court winner got her and the crowd going, and she eventually broke to level at 1-1.

Then it was the left-hander's turn to falter in a topsy-turvy set where both players showed mere flashes of their best form.

But Jabeur, from 3-1 up, again lost her way with Vondrousova levelling at 3-3 before breaking again for a 5-4 lead and a chance to serve for the match.

She went 40-0 and, after a double fault on her first championship point, Vondrousova hit a backhand volley winner before falling to the ground in joy.

Despite her obvious disappointment, Jabeur was quick to go and hug the victor who claimed just the second title of her career and her first since winning the 2017 Biel Open as a 17-year-old.