LONDON: Czech Marketa Vondrousova left Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur heart-broken once again as she claimed a surprise 6-4 6-4 victory on Saturday to become the first unseeded player to win the Wimbledon women’s singles title.
The 24-year-old left-hander, who a year ago needed wrist surgery, proved too steady for the error-strewn Jabeur who ended up as runner-up as she did in 2022.
Jabeur, beaten by Elena Rybakina last year and by Iga Swiatek in the 2022 U.S. Open final, was bidding to become the first Arab player to win a Grand Slam title and the first African woman to lift one of the four major trophies.
But she was well below her best with 31 unforced errors killing her chances of a victory that would have been a milestone moment for women’s sport.
“This is the most painful loss of my career,” the crowd favourite said as she fought back tears.
“Today is going to be a tough day for me but I’m not going to give up and I am going to come back stronger.
“It’s been a tough journey but I promise I will come back and one day win this tournament.”
The unassuming Vondrousova had managed to win only one match in her previous four visits to Wimbledon and last year came with her wrist in a plaster cast to support a friend and go shopping.
But she beat four seeds during the fortnight, including number four Jessica Pegula in the quarter-finals and Ukraine’s crowd darling Elina Svitolina in the semis.
“I don’t know what’s happening right now,” Vondrousova, whose husband Stepan Simek was present for the final after spending the past two weeks looking after their pet cat Frankie back in Prague, said on court after receiving the Venus Rosewater Dish from Britain’s Princess of Wales.
“This time last year I had a cast on so it’s amazing that I can now stand here and hold this, it’s crazy. I don’t know how I’ve done it.”
