There will be a new name on the Wimbledon women’s singles trophy and a new Grand Slam champion on Saturday when Ons Jabeur and Elena Rybakina meet at Centre Court.
For both players, it’s a first Slam final, and both women can make history. Victory for Tunisia’s Jabeur would make her the first Arab and first North African woman to win a Grand Slam title, while victory for Rybakina would make her the first player representing Kazakhstan to taste Grand Slam glory.
No. 3 seed Jabeur did not drop a set in her first four matches but has been pushed to a decider in the last two, while No. 17 seed Rybakina has beaten two Grand Slam champions in Bianca Andreescu and Simona Halep.
Jabeur leads Rybakina 2-1 over their three previous matches, though one of her wins came when Rybakina retired injured. On the biggest occasion of their lives, there are bound to be nerves on both sides. The question is: Who will handle the occasion the best?
Still thinking about this incredible @Ons_Jabeur winner 😅#Wimbledon | #CentreCourt100 pic.twitter.com/1aipfdTb72
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 8, 2022
Why Ons Jabeur will win
As a young child, Jabeur was nicknamed Roger Federer for her incredible hand skills and her ability to come up with shots few people have seen before.
The Tunisian has been going through her box of tricks throughout the fortnight, and though she’s equally at home on clay, grass seems to offer her the best chance of victory.
She has dropped two sets but she has never looked rattled. Instead, she has changed the pace, played the angles, sneaked to the net and confused her opponent. Though Rybakina will bring the heat in terms of pure power, it appears Jabeur will have the skills to deal with it.
Even though her second serve is relatively weak in terms of speed, it has variety and she backs it up incredibly well. In fact, she has won a higher percentage of points on her second serve (63%) than any other woman these two weeks.
More importantly, in the past couple of years, she’s learned to really embrace the fact that she’s playing for more than herself, leading the way for Arab and African tennis. As she said on the eve of Wimbledon: “I’m on a mission.”
Relentless 💪
Play of the Day belongs to Wimbledon finalist, Elena Rybakina#Wimbledon | @HSBC_Sport pic.twitter.com/ETaPleDMzm
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 7, 2022
Why Elena Rybakina will win
In pure and simple terms, if Rybakina plays the way she did against Simona Halep in the semifinals, she’s going to…
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