Marketa Vondrousova came to the All England Club a year ago unable to play tennis at all. She had a cast on her surgically repaired left wrist, so her visit was limited to sightseeing around London with her sister and cheering for a friend who was competing at Wimbledon. This trip was a lot more memorable: She is leaving as a Grand Slam champion. Vondrousova became the first unseeded woman to win Wimbledon on Saturday, the AP reports, coming back in each 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 an amazing feeling," Vondrousova, a 24-year-old left-hander from the Czech Republic, said during the trophy ceremony. "After everything I've been through—I had a cast last year (at) this time—it's just amazing that I can stand here and hold this. Tennis is crazy." After being sidelined from April to October, she finished last season ranked 99th. She arrived at Wimbledon 42nd and was the first unseeded woman to even reach the final at the All England Club in 60 years—the most recent, 1963 runner-up Billie Jean King, was seated in the Royal Box on Saturday. Following the match, King greeted Vondrousova with a hug and told her: "First unseeded ever. I love it."
Center Court's retractable roof was closed for the final, shielding everyone from the wind that topped 20 mph outside, and that perhaps allowed Vondrousova's smooth lefty strokes to repeatedly find the intended mark. Her shots betrayed none of the tension that Jabeur's did, per the AP. Vondrousova trailed in each set but collected the last four games of the first, then the last three games of the second. Jabeur dropped to 0-3 in major finals. The 28-year-old from Tunisia is the only Arab woman and only North African woman to make it that far in singles at any Grand Slam tournament. But Jabeur she lost to Elena Rybakina at the All England Club 12 months ago and to No. 1 Iga Swiatek at the US Open in September.
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"I think this is the most painful loss of my career," Jabeur said afterward, pausing to wipe away tears. She said she won't give up. "I'm going to come back stronger and win a Grand Slam one day," the No. 6 Jabeur told the crowd, which had supported her. Vondrousova's surge to her Slam title was hard to envision at the start of this fortnight. She was 1-4 in previous appearances at Wimbledon, only once making it as far as the second round on its grass courts, before going 7-0 on a run that included wins against five seeded foes. When Vondrousova ended the match by reaching to put away a volley, she tumbled to the grass, laid on her back and put her hands over her visor and face, the happiest she's ever been on the surface.
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