Ons Jabeur fought back tears following her straight-sets victory over Marketa Vondrousova in Cancún as she announced she would donate part of her WTA Finals prize money to help Palestinians.
The 29-year-old Tunisian said after her 6-4, 6-3 win that she also has plans to set up a foundation to “help people in different situations”.
“I haven’t been very happy lately to be honest,” said Jabeur in her post-match interview. “The situation in the world doesn’t make me happy.
“It’s very tough seeing children, babies, dying every day. It’s heart-breaking. So I have decided to donate part of my prize money to help the Palestinians. I cannot be happy with just this win.”
Addressing the crowd, she continued: “I’m sorry guys, it’s supposed to be about tennis, but it’s very frustrating looking at videos every day. I’m sorry, it’s not a political message here, just humanity. I want peace in this world and that’s it.”
Jabeur later posted a video of the emotional aftermath of the match on Instagram, writing that she hoped to make the win – which brought a measure of payback for this summer’s agonising defeat to Vondrousova in the Wimbledon final – “count beyond a tennis court”.
After suffering a decisive defeat to Coco Gauff in her opening match in Chetumal Group, Jabeur will face Iga Swiatek on Friday with her hopes of advancing to the semi-finals still intact. Victory would take her earnings for the tournament to roughly half a million dollars and potentially open a path to the final, where the winner will received an additional $1.4m. Any donation could therefore be sizeable, but prize money and points standings were far from Jabeur’s thoughts as she reflected on the situation in the Middle East.
“A tennis match doesn’t mean anything in front of what’s happening right now,” the sixth seed said in press. “I try to stay off social media as much as I can, but it’s very tough. You go through video, photos, videos – there are horrible, horrible photos every day. It doesn’t help me sleep or recover very well.
“The worst thing is, I feel hopeless, I feel like I cannot do anything. I wish I could have a magic hand and just end all this and [create] peace for everybody. It is frustrating. Maybe donating some money would help a little bit with what they’ve been going through, but I know money doesn’t mean anything right now to them. I wish freedom for everybody, and peace for everyone.”
Jabeur expressed support for Palestine on social media last month, condemning violence on both sides but insisting she could not support “people having their lands taken”. Her words drew a sharp response from the Israel Tennis Federation, which accused her in a Facebook post of supporting “a murderous terrorist organisation”. Israeli officials subsequently filed a formal complaint to the WTA.
“What Palestinians have been going through during the last 75 years is indescribable,” Jabeur wrote on Instagram. “What innocent civilians are going through is indescribable; no matter what their religion is, or what their origin is.
“Violence will never bring peace; I cannot stand with violence, but I also cannot stand with people having their lands taken.”
Jabeur will have her work cut out against Swiatek, who exuded physical and mental intensity as she assumed control of the group with a 6-0, 7-5 against Gauff. Despite the blustery conditions, the Polish world No 2 began at full throttle, storming through a one-sided first set before Gauff claimed a break early in the second. With the American finding her range, Swiatek continued to press, hitting through the wind and making some impressive forays to the net.
Gauff survived an attritional 12-minute service game to hold for 4-2, and although some stout defensive play hauled Swiatek level in the eighth game, Gauff subsequently broke for a second time with a precise forehand pass. A decider looked inevitable, but four straight double faults from the US Open champion handed Swiatek a reprieve and, with Gauff’s frustration evident, the Pole surged for the line.
“I would say this match wasn’t consistent, in terms of the level,” said Swiatek, who later hit out at the WTA over changes to next season’s tournament schedule. “So for sure, adjusting to everything that happened was the most important thing. It took me a while, because I was a break down in the second set. I’m happy that I could problem solve.
“The key was being confident and mentally not focusing on the score, but really just sticking with the plan that worked in the first set.”
Jabeur will need to come up with a plan of her own if she is to find a way past Swiatek and claim a place in the semi-finals. Yet the Tunisian, who was frequently at war with herself against Vondrousova as she struggled to come to terms with the conditions, is also looking beyond the immediate.
“It’s part of my plan to not be just an athlete but also a good ambassador, a good human being,” said Jabeur. “After all, the tennis career will stop [one day] and all I want to do is help people in different situations. I will be creating my own foundation very soon.”