Markéta Vondroušová overcame the odds to beat favorite Ons Jabeur in the Wimbledon’s women’s final on Saturday, July 15, becoming the first unseeded woman in the Tennis Open era to win the famous tournament.
The world No. 42, who was playing in her second grand slam final, beat Jabeur who was the No. 6 seed, 6-4 6-4 .
Immediately after beating her, Vondrousova fell onto the grass as the enormity of her achievement hit her.
Not since Serena Williams in 2018, when the American was ranked 181 in the world, had a female player ranked so low in the world reached a Wimbledon final. The last unseeded woman to do so was Billie Jean King in 1963.
“Tennis is crazy,” said Vondroušová, a former junior No. 1 and runner-up at the 2019 French Open, in her on-court interview. “Yeah, I really don’t know what is happening now, it’s an amazing feeling.”
Jabeur has now lost a second successive Wimbledon final , and she claimed the loss is the most painful of her career. This was also her third loss in a major final.
If Jabeur had won, she would have become the first Arab and African woman to win a grand slam, but her 31 unforced errors proved costly and the wait goes on.
“I’m not going to give up, I’m going to come back stronger,” she told Centre Court while also wiping away the tears.
