On Sunday afternoon Ons Jabeur defeated Daria Kasatkina 7-5, 6-4 in the final of the Birmingham Classic, becoming the first Arab woman in the history of professional tennis to lay claim to a WTA title.
Years of slow and steady progression culminated in a breakthrough for the Tunisian at the Australian Open in 2020. Victories over Johanna Konta, Caroline Garcia, and Caroline Wozniacki in the Dane’s last match made Jabeur the first Arab woman to reach the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam. She entered the top fifty of the WTA rankings, and has become one of the fixtures of the women’s tour.
After a fourth-round showing at the French Open, Jabeur entered the Birmingham Classic with her highest ranking to date at number 24 in the world. She had twice reached the final of WTA tournaments, losing out to Kasatkina in Moscow in 2018, then to Astra Sharma in Charleston earlier this year. In Moscow she had been a set and a break up before losing in three sets, but on Sunday in Birmingham she held her nerve. Jabeur said:
‘I knew I had to go for it, I had to win this title to at least breathe, and give an example. There’s not a lot of Tunisian or Arabic players playing, so I hope this could inspire them. I want to see more Arabic and Tunisians playing with me on tour.’
The women of the Birmingham Classic were shaking off the red clay from Roland Garros, and stepping out onto grass in preparation for Wimbledon. Jabeur was the only woman in the draw who made it to the second week in France, and was seeded second behind Elise Mertens. Instead it was a resurgent Kasatkina and qualifier CoCo Vandeweghe who came through in the top half of the draw, with Vandeweghe reaching her first singles semi-final in three years after being blighted by injury. Kasatkina emerged unscathed from their match, winning 6-2, 6-4 to progress to the final.
In the bottom half of the draw, Jabeur survived a scare up against the 18-year-old Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez, while third seed Donna VekiÄ fought back in three sets versus Camila Giorgi only to succumb to Heather Watson in the quarter-finals. An impressive showing from Watson, the local favourite, drew to a close in the semis as Jabeur prevailed 6-3, 6-3.
The run in Birmingham put Jabeur level with world number one Ash Barty on 28 wins so far this year. Her historic triumph was lauded by some big names within the sport and by political and cultural figures from her home country of Tunisia.
Congratulations to @Ons_Jabeur, the first Arab woman to win a WTA title! #VikingClassic https://t.co/IGHqM8wvA5
— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing) June 21, 2021
The Birmingham Classic skipped a year owing to the coronavirus pandemic. When the event was last held in 2019, the winner was Ash Barty, whose victory saw her ascend for the first time to number one in the world. This year Barty had hoped to compete at the German Open in Berlin, but injury forced her withdrawal before the start of the tournament.
In Berlin a strong field included Aryna Sabalenka, Elina Svitolina, Bianca Andreescu, KarolĆna PlĆÅ”kovĆ”, GarbiƱe Muguruza, Victoria Azarenka, and Madison Keys. Yet it was the young Russian qualifier Liudmila Samsonova who emerged as the surprise victor, dispatching Keys and Azarenka before defeating the fifth seed Belinda Bencic in the final 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.
