Cincinnati [US], August 15 : Ons Jabeur recently spoke up about her loss in the 2023 Wimbledon final and the mental approach required to compete at the highest level of the sport.
The Tunisian tennis player suffered a painful defeat at the recent Wimbledon Championships. The No. 6 seed was shocked by unseeded Marketa Vondrousova in the grasscourt Major's final, losing 6-4, 6-4.
"I had to take a few days a lot of days off to recover and still, it was not enough," WTA quoted Jabeur as saying in Cincinnati.
"I wasn't feeling ready to play Montreal because that loss was kind of tough for me. So I tried to stay home, be with my family. I tried to reflect a bit on the final, but for now, I've got to be honest, it's still tough to think about it again," she added.
Jabeur thinks that returning to her competitive routines will help her heal faster as she prepares for her first competition since Wimbledon at the Western and Southern Open. That was certainly the case after she lost her maiden major final to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon last year. Jabeur recovered to reach the US Open final.
"I need to get back to tour and be able to move on. And the best thing is just to play tournaments, just to focus on what I'm doing and what I want to do. Definitely not giving up. That's something that I'm very sure about it, that I'm going to give my best. Every time I step on the tennis court it's going to be 100 per cent," Jabeur said.
Jabeur was delighted by the wonderful response she received from the sporting community following her Wimbledon loss. But it was Andy Roddick's remark that brought her to tears.
The American could readily imagine himself in Jabeur's position. He was defeated in three Wimbledon finals by Roger Federer. Roddick claims in an essay that he sent Jabeur a lengthy note last month.
"I have more faith in you winning Wimbledon than I ever had in myself winning Wimbledon. Take a breath, take a minute, make sure you prepare, keep your fitness going. She's someone I really hope wins a Grand Slam title at some point," Andy Roddick wrote.
Jabeur said she was shocked to get a message from her idol.
"I was crying, happy crying. I appreciate that he took the time to write a good long message. I'm definitely talking to him when I see him probably at the US Open," she said.
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