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Rabat – World tennis champion Ons Jabeur went emotional and refused to celebrate her victory over Czech Marketa Vondrousova in today’s WTA finals, choosing instead to draw attention to the tragedy of Palestinians as they endure the merciless and relentlessly bombardments of the Israeli army’s murderous campaign in Gaza.
“Sorry, I cannot be happy with this win. The situation in Palestine does not make me happy. It is very difficult to see children and babies dying every day. It is heartbreaking,” Jabeur said in the post match interview.
The Tunisian champion expressed her desire to donate part of her prize money to help the Palestinians.
“I’m sorry, guys. This is supposed to be about tennis but it’s very frustrating looking at videos every day,” she added, stressing that this is not a “political message,” but a gesture of humanity.
Her attitude gained her the respect of both the audience at the tennis court and netizens.
“Ons is not only the best Tunisian athlete, but the best ambassador,” said one netizen on a post she shared on LinkedIn with the video.
Other commenters shared messages of admiration and encouragement, applauding Jabeur for her humane yet courageous act of expressing solidarity with Palestiains amid the silence and indifference prevailing in power circles around the world.
“Very courageous of her,” commented one netizen, while another said: “Being human in this world is not as easy as it looks.”
In today’s tournament, Jabeur won two sets to nil against Vondrousova (6-4, 6-3).
After being eliminated in the group stage in 2022, the 29-year-old is attempting to make it to the top four of the WTA Finals for the first time in her career. Her final group stage match will be against Polish group leader Iga Swiatek.
Read also: Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur Becomes First Arab to Reach Wimbledon Finals
