Wimbledon trailblazer Jabeur receives Tunisian Order of Merit

Tennis trailblazer Ons Jabeur, who turned the initially African girl to reach a Grand Slam singles last, was honored by Tunisian President Kais Saied on Thursday for “her remarkable sporting successes”.

The 27-calendar year-previous Jabeur, defeated in the Wimbledon final by Russian-born Elena Rybakina last weekend, was awarded the country’s Great Medal of the National Buy of Merit.

Saied hailed Jabeur for elevating “substantial the country’s flag in global sporting events” and described her as “the ambassador of Tunisia”.

“Congratulations for this achievements and long term successes.”

Jabeur, nicknamed “Minister of Pleasure” by supporters in Tunisia, explained she hoped to inspire other Arab and African players to triumph at tennis.

“We want to give additional hope to the younger people today who check out us. We hope to keep on this momentum. We are happy to be Tunisians and we will continue on with this success story,” she stated.

© 2022 AFP