World No.2 Ons Jabeur and No.23 Elena Rybakina are entering uncharted territory. Both women are the first from their nations to reach a Grand Slam final.
Jabeur, the 27-year-old Tunisian, made history for the Arab and African world as the first woman from either region to make a Slam final. Her run has made headlines back home and lit up social media. Tunisian fans have been serenading her during interviews.
"I want to go bigger, inspire many more generations," Jabeur said. "Tunisia is connected to the Arab world, is connected to the African continent. The area, we want to see more players. It's not like Europe or any other countries. I want to see more players from my country, from the Middle East, from Africa.
"I think we didn't believe enough at a certain point that we can do it. Now I'm just trying to show that. Hopefully, people are getting inspired."
Rybakina, 23, is also forging a new road for tennis in Kazakhstan. She has beaten Jabeur before, at 2019 in Wuhan. Jabeur got the better of her last year in Dubai. Both matches went three sets.
Rybakina says she first met Jabeur in 2018 when they were both playing a WTA 125K in Chicago.
"I came for the first time with my dad and I met her," Rybakina said. "She was very nice to help me to find the club because she had a car.
"What she achieved already, it's happening, like, in front of my eyes. We are going together in this journey. I think it's just amazing to think that you are making history."
Semifinal recap: Jabeur beats Maria in three | Rybakina routs Halep
Advantage, Rybakina
Here is why Elena Rybakina is a serious threat to win her first Grand Slam singles title on Saturday:
Serving at 4-3, 40-30 in the second set of the semifinal against Simona Halep, it was a huge moment for a 23-year-old playing her first match on Centre Court. Rybakina had showed slight signs of nerves as she neared the finish line, when her fierce forehand started to slip into erratic mode. Halep fans -- including Halep herself -- had to be thinking, this is where she offers up an opening.
Instead, the offering was a 121 mph ace, smoked outside. Rybakina went on to deliver an utterly calm, cool 6-3, 6-3 victory and advanced to the final against Ons Jabeur. It was her fifth ace of the match, the 49th of the tournament and 217th of the year -- the last a Hologic WTA Tour high-water mark.
To beat Halep -- who said she was playing better than three years ago when she beat Serena in the Wimbledon final -- required extraordinary poise. Halep, it should be mentioned, came in with 12 straight match-wins here and 21 consecutive sets.
“Everybody probably nervous when they are going to play on Centre Court and if it’s a final,” Rybakina told reporters. “But it’s a challenge for me to be stable, to be strong mentally.”
Courtney, you called her the right-handed Petra Kvitova on Twitter, and that’s exactly right. She would be the youngest female player to win the title since Kvitova in 2011. Rybakina also has that easy power and seems so comfortable on grass. And she’s the youngest woman to reach the final since Garbiñe Muguruza in 2015. I think that’s a good thing. Jabeur, four years older, likely will be feeling the pressure of being the No.2 player in the world and the favorite to win. We saw this in the second set against Halep.
While Jabeur holds a 2-1 head-to-head advantage, I don’t think it means anything. The decisive match, last year in Chicago, ended when Rybakina (illness) retired. It will be noted many times in the coming hours that Rybakina has lost her last four finals -- St. Petersburg, Dubai and Strasbourg in 2020 and earlier this year in Adelaide. Again, meaningless history. The win against Halep -- in the biggest match of her life to date -- was virtually flawless. And her 14th against a Top 20 player.
Jabeur will be No.15. -- Greg Garber
Advantage, Jabeur
Greg, I think you're absolutely right that three previous meetings between these two should be thrown out the window. These two have never played when they were simultaneously in form. That changes come Saturday. And ultimately, experience will tell the tale. I think everything Jabeur has gone through in her step-by-step journey has prepared her perfectly for her first major final.
Jabeur vs. Rybakina: The numbers behind a historic Wimbledon final
The stats and figures surrounding Jabeur's trailblazing career are endless, and playing for a nation, a region and a continent can be daunting. We've seen how the hopes of a nation have impacted players from Andy Murray to Ashleigh Barty. But if you channel it the right way, that pressure forges champions.
To witness Jabeur's transformation from a player whose frustration and nerves would trigger a variety of heartbreaking losses and missed opportunities, the 27-year-old Tunisian has grown into herself this year. When I hear her say this is her time, I believe her.
She has left no stone unturned in her quest to be one of the best players in the world. She's spoken openly about using a sports psychologist since she was a teenager, sought out a coach who believed in her game built on touch and guile and put in the work to improve her fitness to hang with the top level.
The result?
She's the World No.2, the highest-ranking ever for an Arab or African player. She's a fan and commentator favorite, winning Shot of the Month contests with ease. The locker room explodes with glee when she wins. She leads the tour in three-set wins, a credit to her mental and physical prowess.
Ons Jabeur knows that this will not be her only chance at a major title. Win or lose Saturday, Jabeur will wake up the next day knowing she has a genuine shot to win the next Slam. And the one after that. And the one after that. This is an important realization for any top player because it takes the pressure off that singular moment. It's not do or die Saturday. Jabeur has suffered enough tough losses to know that.
It's precisely why, after losing in the first round of Roland Garros, she dusted herself off and hasn't lost a match since. It's why when she was forced into a third set by both Marie Bouzkova in the quarterfinals and Tatjana Maria in the semifinals, she never panicked.
This is a tough matchup, no doubt. Jabeur's weapon is her wand of a racquet, and Rybakina has the tools -- in her serve and forehand -- to take that racquet right out of her hands.
Rybakina will be, by far, the most powerful player Jabeur will face all tournament. But unlike Rybakina, Jabeur can make quick adjustments and work her way through matchup issues because she has the variety to have a Plan B. She also has the confidence of a player who hasn't lost a match on this surface in 12 months. -- Courtney Nguyen
