Tunisia's Ons Jabeur on to Wimbledon final, becomes first African woman to reach major final

Ons Jabeur advanced to her first Grand Slam final by beating Tatjana Maria 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 on Centre Court at Wimbledon in a victory that is also a first for Arab and African women.

The Tunisian is the first Arab woman to reach a major final and the first African woman to do so in the Open era.

The third-seeded Jabeur will face either 2019 Wimbledon champion Simona Halep or 17th-seeded Elena Rybakina in Saturday’s final.

In the deciding set, Jabeur twice broke her 34-year-old German opponent - who was a first-time Grand Slam semifinalist - en route to 5-0 lead.

This was Maria’s 35th appearance at a major tournament, and the 103rd-ranked player had never been beyond the third round previously.

Elena Rybakina defeated 2019 champion Simona Halep 6-3, 6-3 on Centre Court to set up a Wimbledon final against Ons Jabeur.

Both the 17th-seeded Rybakina and third-seeded Jabeur are first-time Grand Slam finalists.

Rybakina is the first Kazakhstan player to reach a major final. Jabeur is the first Arab woman to reach a major final and the first African woman to do so in the Open era.

The 23-year-old Rybakina is the youngest Wimbledon finalist since 2015 when Garbiñe Muguruza lost to Serena Williams.

Halep, the 2018 French Open champion, had reached the semifinals without dropping a set but was broken early in both sets.

The 30-year-old Romanian wasn’t able to defend her Wimbledon title last year - after the 2020 edition was canceled - because of a calf injury.