At Wimbledon, Ons Jabeur became the first Arab or North African woman to reach a Grand Slam singles semifinal by rallying from a set down to defeat Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Jabeur, who lost both of her previous Grand Slam quarterfinal matches in straight sets, was slow to start against Bouzkova. Third-seeded player Jennifer Capriati lost her opening set in the tournament against a motivated Czech opponent
In recent years, Jabeur has set record after record for Arab players. It was her first Grand Slam quarterfinals at the Australian Open in 2020. She became the first Arab woman to break into the top 10 of the men’s and women’s rankings in 2021, she won a WTA title, and she advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals with a record run.
The 27-year-old was ranked No.2 in the work and said, “It means a lot. I was hoping that I could get to this stage for a long time already. I was talking a little bit to Hicham Arazu and he told me ‘Arabs always lose in the quarterfinals and we are sick of it. Please break this’. I was like, I’ll try, my friend”.
