Great hopes were pinned on Tunisian Anas Jaber to be an Arab and African player to win a major tennis tournament; But hopes were dashed after she lost the Wimbledon title to Kazakh Elena Rybakina; Which prompted her to launch a strong statement immediately after her defeat.
Tunisian Anas Jaber expressed her sadness after losing the Wimbledon title to Kazakh Elena Rybakina, on Saturday, July 9, saying: “Elena stole my title, but things are fine.” She added, “Elena played amazing and deserved it.”
The defeat did not weaken the determination of the Tunisian player, ranked second in the world; She said: “I hope next time I will win the title, I love this tournament, and I felt really sad, but in tennis there is only one winner, I try to inspire people in my country, I hope they listen to me.”
Details of the “Wimbledon” final between Anas Jaber and Elena Rybakina
Rybakina, ranked 17th in the tournament, defeated world number two Anas Jaber in the final match on Saturday 3-6, 6-2, 6-2.
This is the first major title for Rybakina – 23 years old and ranked 23 in the world, born in Russia, who chose to carry the colors of Kazakhstan in 2018 instead of Russia, whose players were banned from participating in the current edition due to the Russian-Ukrainian war.
And Anas Jaber was on a date with history in the third Grand Slam, and she started the confrontation wonderfully, winning the first set 6-3, but she was content with four games in the second and third sets; Rybakina extended her dominance, noting that the previous best result for the winner of the Grand Slam was the quarter-finals of Roland Garros 2021.
Rybakina awarded Kazakhstan their first major title in men’s and women’s tennis, after a match between two players in the first major final of their careers.
“I hope to return here, but without facing Elena,” said Anas Jaber, 27, with a smile. “I thank everyone for supporting me during this tournament. I wish a blessed Eid by Eid al-Adha.”
As for Rybakina, she said: “I was nervous, and I’m happy that the match ended. I’ve never felt this way before. I thank the fans for the great support. I wouldn’t have been here without the help of my team.”