After battling back and forcing a second-set tiebreaker in her first US Open final, Ons Jabeur fell to No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek on Saturday, 6-2, 7-6(5).
Earlier this year, Jabeur was the runner up at Wimbledon, too.
“I really tried, but Iga didn’t make it easy for me,” Jabeur told the sold-out crowd of 23,859 fans in Arthur Ashe Stadium. “I don’t like her very much right now,” she joked—adding at the post-match press conference, “I’ll forgive her when she gives me a Rolex or something.”
Despite the loss, the convivial 28-year-old Tunisian reached a slew of milestones in New York.
She achieved her best performance in Flushing Meadows after three consecutive years of third-round exits. She boosted her world ranking to No. 2. She earned a runner-up check for $1.3 million dollars. (That’s 4.16 million Tunisian dinars.) And she became the first Arab and African woman to reach the US Open final in the Open Era.
“It means a lot,” she said, referring to her impact back home. “I’m trying to do more and more. Hopefully I can inspire more and more [kids]. That’s the goal. This is just the beginning of so many things.”
For example, she said, “[I] definitely [want to] win a Grand Slam to show that it's not impossible for someone coming from my country, from my continent, to have that title.
“In the future maybe I can share my experience and kind of show them and guide them. I mean, I don't want them to waste their time like I did in some things because I didn't know what to do.”
“I played a lot of African tournaments before, and championships. The way they fight there, it's just amazing. Hopefully one day they can […] be here. But most important, [do] not to give up.”
On Saturday, Jabeur was a model of her own message.
In the championship match, Jabeur said Swiatek started “really strong and put a lot of pressure on me.” After Swiatek won the first set in 30 minutes, Jabeur said, “It was very tough, and she was hitting lines a lot of times, kind of annoying. Second set, I had my chances; she had hers. I was coming back, coming back. I wish I had [a] lead so I can continue and build on it.”
In the end, Jabeur said, “I have nothing to regret because I did everything possible. I wish I served little bit better today; It would have helped me a lot. I will keep positive and work on the things that was missing today.”
Similar to losing Wimbledon, she said, “This one is going to be tough. It's part of tennis. I believe this will take me time. The most important thing is accepting it, [and] learning from the finals that I lost.
“Definitely I'm not going to give up. I am sure I'm going to be in the final again. I will try my best to win it. I'm going to keep my hopes up. I know there is a lot of many finals coming for me."
For now, she said, “I'm going to enjoy these two weeks, rest a little bit and prepare for the end of the season,” particularly the WTA Finals, this year to be held in Forth Worth, Texas.
“It's a big thing for me,” she said, “a mini-Grand Slam, I call it. I always dreamed to play this one. I will maybe show myself there and build more confidence to really get ready for the next season because I feel like I have a lot to show next season. I'm definitely going for the No. 1 spot.
“[Iga’s] really set the bar very high. It's great for our sport. I will keep doing my thing and hopefully will catch her,” she said.
