When Ons Jabeur made her transition on to the lowest rungs of professional tennis 12 years ago, her target seemed difficult enough. For so long the highest-ranked Arab woman in the history of the WTA was Selima Sfar, the Tunisian who reached the heights of No 75 in 2001.
It took Jabeur – Sfar’s compatriot – a long time to pass that mark. She had spent five years of her career stuck in the purgatory of being ranked between 100 and 200. Since she crossed the magic No 75 at the end of 2018, she has not stopped rising.
In every year since she has created new history for her continent and region, from a first WTA title and grand slam quarter-final to the joy of finally marking herself as one of the elite last year. One defining goal remains on her quest: a grand slam title.
The past fortnight has already showcased an incredible run for the sixth seed. She has successively beaten three of the tournament favourites in Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka – all major champions – to return to the final. In three of her matches, she recovered from a set down. The 28-year-old seems to have unlocked something new this week, a greater level of grit and determination that has carried her through.
In her first two grand slam finals, at Wimbledon and the US Open last year, she had her chances. But the past year has shown how tough both Rybakina and Iga Swiatek are. This is clearly Jabeur’s best chance to win a slam and, against Marketa Vondrousova on Saturday, she will be the heavy favourite. Much of the challenge for Jabeur will be to handle the burden in order to be successful.
“I think a final is a final,” said the Tunisian. “You’re playing someone, grand slam champion or not. I think it’s going to be very difficult. It can happen for both. Whoever could handle more the emotions, whoever could be more ready on the court, will definitely win that match.”
The WTA is so often criticised for the one dimensionality of its players, but this final stands as an effective retort to the notion that there is no variety on the tour. These finalists are two of the most skilful players on their tour; while Jabeur uses her powers to disrupt and attack, Vondrousova combines her touch with incredible court sense and lefty trickery, her counterpunching making her an extremely difficult opponent when in full flow. “I feel like we’re the same in some things. We’re playing drop shots. We’re playing slice,” said the Czech.
Ever since she reached the final of the French Open in 2019, aged 19, there has been no doubt about her talent, variety and intelligence on court. But the length of time it has taken her to get back to a slam final is reflected in the career arc her opponent in that final, Ashleigh Barty, has enjoyed since; establishing a period of dominance, retiring and going on to give birth to her first child.
After that breakthrough, Vondrousova, now 24, has struggled to consistently record big results. She won an Olympic silver medal in Tokyo and has had a few other big wins, but those positive steps were countered by inconsistency and a number of frustrating results. Last year, just as it seemed like she would enjoy a great clay season, she was forced out for eight months with an elbow injury.
Such is her talent, it always seemed like she would find her way and embark on another big run. The shock is that it has come so suddenly on grass, a surface she has historically performed badly on. Before this year, Vondrousova held a 2-10 win-loss record on grass. “It was almost impossible because I didn’t play many matches on grass before,” she said.
“My best [result] was second round. For me, when it was clay or hard, maybe I would say: ‘Yeah, maybe it’s possible.’ But grass was impossible for me. It’s even crazier that this is happening.”
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Over the past couple of weeks, the world No 42 has learned her game really does suit the surface well. She has come to understand how she can enrage opponents with her slice off both forehand and backhand wings; her drop shots are even harder to retrieve and her lefty trickery, particularly her swinging serve, is naturally at its best on this surface. While there have always been concerns about her elaborate forehand swing on faster surfaces, it has adapted well.
The finalists’ head-to-head provides an interesting wrinkle. While they are 3-3 overall, with Jabeur winning their one meeting on grass in 2021, the Czech has won the two matches they have played this year, at the Australian Open and Indian Wells.
Jabeur would argue that she was far from her physical best on both occasions. Shortly after her loss in Melbourne, she underwent knee surgery and she was just coming back, still early in her recovery, when they played at Indian Wells.
For both players, this match is even more significant because of the previous times they have fallen short.
Between them, they have made three slam finals and one Olympic final. They have tasted the experience of these enormous occasions, leaving the match as the loser each time. On Saturday, for one of them, life will finally change.