Wimbledon: Marketa Vondrousova beats Ons Jabeur

WIMBLEDON, England –

Marketa Vondrousova came to the All England Club a year ago and could not play tennis at all. She had a plaster cast on her surgically repaired left wrist, so her visit was limited to sightseeing in London with her sister and cheering on a friend who was competing at Wimbledon.

This journey was a lot more memorable: she leaves as a Grand Slam champion.

Vondrousova became the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon on Saturday, coming back in every set for a 6-4, 6-4 victory over 2022 runner-up Ons Jabeur in the final.

“I don’t really know what’s happening now. It’s a great feeling,” Vondrousova, a 24-year-old southpaw from the Czech Republic, said at the awards ceremony. “After everything I’ve been through – I had a cast this time last year – it’s just amazing that I can stand here and hold this. Tennis is crazy.”

After being sidelined from April to October, she only finished 99th last season. She arrived 42nd at Wimbledon and was the first unseeded woman in 60 years to even reach the All England Club final. Kate, the Princess of Wales.

After the match, King greeted Vondrousova with a hug and told her, “First unseeded ever. Love it.”

The center court’s retractable roof was closed for the final, protecting everyone from the wind blowing 30mph outside, and perhaps allowing Vondrousova’s smooth lefts to repeatedly find their intended target. Her shots betray nothing of the kind of tension that Jabeur’s shots created.

Vondrousova lost in the 2019 French Open final as a teenager. This afternoon, she trailed in every set, but collected the last four games of the first and then the last three games of the second.

How did she plan to celebrate?

“Maybe I’ll have a beer,” Vondrouova said, with a chuckle from the fans. “It’s been a really exhausting two weeks. And I’ve just been trying to get myself together the last few days. I was just so nervous before the game and I’m just really grateful for that.”

Jabeur fell to 0-3 in grand finals. The 28-year-old Tunisian is the only Arab woman and only North African woman to make it this far in singles at a Grand Slam tournament.

But she lost to Elena Rybakina at the All England Club 12 months ago and to No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the US Open last September.

“I think this is the most painful loss of my career,” said Jabeur, pausing to wipe away tears.

“It’s going to be a tough day for me today, but I’m not giving up,” she said. “I will come back stronger and win a Grand Slam one day.”

Vondrousova’s rise to her Slam title was hard to imagine at the start of these two weeks.

She has been 1–4 in previous appearances at Wimbledon, reaching the second round on the grass courts just once, before going 7–0 after a run of wins against five seeded foes.

Against No. 6 Jabeur, Vondrousova kept falling slightly behind. She trailed 2-0 in the first set, then 4-2, before snatching 16 of her last 18 points.

In the second set the deficits were 3-1 and 4-3.

But Jabeur’s mistakes kept coming: she would finish with 31 unforced errors, while Vondrousova committed only 13.

In the break between sets, Jabeur went to the dressing room. When she came out again, she immediately made another mistake and the spectators made a lot of noise to show their support. Another error gave Vondrousova a break point, and Jabeur gifted it with another shot into the net. The game was 45 minutes old and Vondrousova was leading by a set and a break.

Then Jabeur began a turnaround of sorts. She took three games in a row to lead 3-1 and showed signs of perhaps the kind of comebacks she created after relinquishing the opening sets before beating Rybakina, No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka and 2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu defeated.

The crowd flocked to the popular Jabeur, nicknamed the Minister of Happiness for her demeanor on and off the pitch, the level of support they offered rising in tandem with her level of play.

It did not take long.

Vondrousova overcame that blip and, with her husband on hand for the first time in the tournament, blasted to the finish line. Their first wedding anniversary is Sunday.

When Vondrousova ended the game by extending a volley, she fell to the grass, lay on her back and put her hands over her visor and face, the happiest she’s ever been on the surface.