Wimbledon | Ons Jabeur becomes first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam semifinal

Pathbreaking Tunisian Ons Jabeur added a new ‘first’ to her list of achievements by becoming the first Arab woman to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament. She beat Marie Bouzkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the quarterfinals

To the many “firsts” filling Ons Jabeur’s résumé, add a new one: First Arab woman to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament. The third-seeded Tunisian improved on last year's quarterfinal run at Wimbledon by doing one better on Tuesday at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament. She beat Marie Bouzkova 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 on Centre Court.

“It means a lot,” said the 27-year-old Jabeur, who is ranked No. 2 in the world. “I was hoping that I could get to this stage for a long time already.... I was talking a little bit to (former Moroccan player) Hicham Arazi, and he told me, ‘Arabs always lose in the quarterfinals and we are sick of it. Please break this.' I was, like, I’ll try, my friend.”

She tried and it's true, she did it. In the semifinals, Jabeur will face another newcomer to this stage at a major tournament — Tatjana Maria.

The 34-year-old German, who twice took breaks from tennis to have a child, became the oldest first-time Grand Slam semifinalist in the Open era in her 35th appearance at such a tournament. She defeated 22-year-old Jule Niemeier 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 on No. 1 Court.

Jabeur and Maria are good friends. “I’m really happy for her that she’s getting what she deserves. I know she struggled a lot,” Jabeur said. “It’s not easy coming back after having two babies. It’s going to be a great match between us, a lot of respect, for sure.”

Jabeur has been setting record after record for Arab players in recent years. She became the first Arab woman to reach the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament in 2020 at the Australian Open. In 2021, she was the first Arab player to break into the top 10 of the men's or women's rankings, then became the first Arab to win a WTA title, and topped it off with her record run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

This year, things have been going even better for Jabeur on the grass at the All England Club. She won her first four matches in straight sets and was rarely troubled in any of them.