"I was in a super-bad zone & couldn't handle another loss; I didn't want to be a coward" - Ons Jabeur opens up on overcoming Wimbledon 2023 heartbreak

Ons Jabeur recently opened up about overcoming her loss to Marketa Vondrousova in the 2023 Wimbledon finals.

It was heartbreak for Jabeur on July 15, 2023, as she faltered on the last step in her quest for the Venus Rosewater Dish. The sixth seed did everything perfectly to get to the final as she defeated one top player after another, including Petra Kvitova, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka.

But the Tunisian couldn't go past unseeded Vondrousova in the final. She began the match positively by breaking Vondrousova in her first and third service games. The Czech, however, hung in there and secured the opening set by converting three break points.

The second set panned out for Jabeur in a similar fashion as she broke her opponent twice but, in turn, was broken thrice as she saw the championship slip away from her grip. Vondrousova won the match 6-4, 6-4.

Nine months later, the Tunisian has shared details about moving on from the heartbreak. She revealed motivating herself and letting go of the fear of losing.

"I was in a super-bad zone and I think I couldn't handle another loss. But I was challenging myself, I was like: 'Ok, I've never been in this situation before,' in being a top player and losing a lot of matches. But I said, also looking at some quotes and everything, for me it's good to dare to fail," the 29-year-old told the Guardian.

She told herself that not trying was the trait of a coward.

"I think if you're a coward, you will not go and try. I didn't want to be a coward and I wanted to try, even losing but taking the loss with pride. That was one thing that I was proud of myself for doing, even though I had a lot of negative thoughts. But it happens, I do accept these negative thoughts and turn them into positive ones," Jabeur added.

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Ons Jabeur had lost Wimbledon final in 2022 as well

Elena Rybakina (L) and Ons Jabeur: 2022 Wimbledon

The loss in the 2023 final at Wimbledon stung Ons Jabeur more as it was the second-straight title clash failure at the London Major.

She entered the main draw as the third seed behind Poland's Iga Swiatek and Estonia's Anna Kontaveit. With Swiatek crashing out in the third round and Kontaveit in the second, she was in pole position to clinch the women's singles title before the first week of the tournament concluded.

Ons Jabeur cruised past Mirjam Bjorklund, Katarzyna Kawa, Diane Parry, Elise Mertens, Marie Bouzkova and Tatjana Maria to reach the final. However, Elena Rybakina triumphed in the title clash with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 win in the final on July 9, 2022.