Ons Jabeur scored a convincing comeback win over Bianca Andreescu, establishing herself as a real favorite to compete for the Wimbledon title. She entered 2023 as one of the players to watch by ending the year at world #2 and making both the Wimbledon and US Open finals. She failed to keep that momentum going in 2023 with a challenging start to the year where she failed to see the strong results she had last year. Jabeur did manage to step up on the big stage, reaching the Roland Garros quarterfinals. She did have a difficult grass court season up to this point, but her play so far at Wimbledon shows that she has what it takes to make another deep run.
Can Ons Jabeur Win Wimbledon?
Early Rounds
Jabeur picked up where she left off at Wimbledon in her first matches against Magdalena French and Zhuoxuan Bai. She beat French 6-3 6-3 in a straightforward match that saw her get broken just one time where aggressive tennis and quick points helped her stay in control. Jabeur barely broke a sweat against Bai, finishing her off 6-1 6-1 in just 45 minutes. She held all seven of her service games, losing just ten points in those games.
Her first serious challenge was Andreescu who is playing great tennis again after years of injuries. Andreescu had two leads in the match though Jabeur fought right back from each of them. After dropping the first set, Jabeur upped her game and played a great second set to even the match. Andreescu then scored an early break to go up 3-1 in the final set, but Jabeur broke back the very next game and fought hard to take the decider and advance.
While Jabeur’s fighting tennis has made her look good, the statistics show how well she is playing to make her a danger in the draw. She has had at least five aces in all of her matches with no more than two double faults. She has also played the shots she needs to in grass court tennis, and hit more winners than unforced errors in all three of her matches. Fitness has been a slight concern previously but playing quick points has allowed her to limit time on court and stay well rested.
Potential Opponenets
Jabeur will prove herself as a favorite soon with arguably her toughest match remaining coming in the fourth round against Petra Kvitova. Kvitova is a two-time champion here and is using her big serve to continue to stay relevant at her age. She won the grass court event in Berlin and like Jabeur has looked strong here. Jabeur has struggled in the past against her but her defensive game can handle her big serve, and playing later in the week along with the rain could help slow down the courts and play into Jabeur’s advantage. Kvitova will be a challenging opponent but the match could go either way and the draw opens up plenty after.
Jabeur’s next two opponents on her path to the final look dangerous on paper in defending champion Elena Rybakina and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka. Rybakina pulled out of Eastbourne last week with an illness and has looked a bit shaky in recent matches, making her look a lot more vulnerable than she was last year where Jabeur won the first set. Sabalenka has also not looked her best on grass and escaped a second round upset.
Her big hitting game leaves her error-prone which plays right into Jabeur’s abilities to hit winners and force her opponent to make mistakes. Jabeur should be able to beat any player in the top half of the draw, with Iga Swiatek the favorite to go through, though grass is by far her worst surface and she is yet to even make a quarterfinal here.
Can She Win?
Jabeur can certainly win Wimbledon, as shown by her finals appearance last year and quality play this year. Will she win is a bit of a trickier question. She is on what seems to be the tougher side of the draw and while she can beat each player it will be tough to string together all of those wins consecutively. It would surely be a surprise for Jabeur to capture her first major title here, but it is certainly possible. Many wrote Jabeur off before the tournament due to her poor form but she has proved that she is a legitimate contender for the title.
