KUWAIT: Tunisian tennis player Ons Jabeur is a pride for Tunisia and all Arabs, as she has not only succeeded in attracting and uniting Arab fans to support her since the beginning of the Wimbledon Open tennis tournament, Dr Souad Al-Sabah said in a statement.

She added that Jabeur also imposed her strong presence and made her participation in the tournament a national event. “The player made a historic achievement in the world of Tennis, after becoming the first Arab and African player to reach the final. With her courageous spirit that she possesses and her determination, she became a role model for Arab woman in general and the African woman in particular,” she said.

Dr Souad Al-Sabah said in a message addressed to the Tunisian Jabeur: “I held my breath with you, and shared with you every heartbeat, as well as every blow to your determination and every sad tear you shed — but they are tears of ambition, not tears of brokenness. Beautiful things are to come for our daughter, whom we love and call the ‘Minister of Happiness’.”

Ons Jabeur qualified for the final round for the second year in a row after losing the title of the last edition of Wimbledon to Kazakh champion Elena Rybakina in two sets to one.

In her first comments after losing the Wimbledon final, Jabeur wiped her tears, saying: “This is the most painful loss of my career. It’s going to be a tough day but I’m not going to give up and I’m coming back stronger. It’s a tough journey but I promise to come back and I’ll win this tournament one day.”