Watch: Ons Jabeur left inconsolable, breaks down in tears but fears ‘ugly’ photos after second Wimbledon heartbreak

After the heartbreak in 2022 when she went down from a set up in the Wimbledon final against Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur gave herself another shot at history, of becoming the first ever Arab and African Grand Slam winner, when she went up against unseeded Marketa Vondrousova. On both the occasions, Jabeur was the heavy favourite, and was denied a place in history, both times. On Saturday, on Centre Court, the no.6 seed lost 4-6, 4-6 against the Czech after which she was left inconsolable and broke down into tears.

Jabeur was aiming to complete a perfect revenge tour at the All England Club. Having lost to two-time Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova in 2019, she avenged her loss in the round of 16 this year before getting her revenge of Rybakina in the quarters and then against Aryna Sabalenka in the semis, for her 2021 loss. Up next was Vondrousova, who beat her twice in 2023, one being at the Australian Open. But the Czech stunned Jabeur in the summit clash as the Tunisian suffered a Grand Slam final defeat for the third time in her career, with US Open 2022 loss to Iga Swiatek being the other.

Following the loss, Jabeur broke down in tears with her face buried in her towel after she made her way to her bench. She later became emotional again when asked about to speak after collecting the runner-up prize.

“I will try but this is very, very tough but I’m gonna look ugly in the photos so,” Jabeur said. “I think this is the most painful loss of my career so. First I wanna say congratulations to Marketa and her team for this amazing win. You are an amazing player and I know you had a lot of injuries so I’m very happy for you.”

Jabeur vows for a strong return

Jabeur has been among the most consistent players on the tour. In 2022, she had reached two Grand Slam finals which helped her claim a career-high ranking of No.2. In 2023, she bagged her fourth WTA title at Charleston before making a historic French Open quarterfinal.

After being denied in the Wimbledon final for the second time in a row, the Tunisian vowed to make a strong comeback: “I don’t know, it’s just going to be a tough day for me today but I’m not going to give up and I’m going to come back stronger. It’s an amazing tournament for me I wish I continued until the end I wanna thank my team for always believing in me and we’re going to make it one day, I promise you,” she said.