ABU DHABI: Ons Jabeur can look forward to an exciting 2023 after defending her Mubadala World Tennis Championship title at the International Tennis Center at Zayed Sports City.
Just 12 months after becoming the first Arab to play at, and win, the MWTC, Tunisian ace Jabeur retained her title in the women’s match on the first day of the 14th edition, with a 5-7, 6-3, (10)-(8) victory over 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
In doing so, she became the first woman to win back-to-back MWTC titles. Jabeur, who reached back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Wimbledon and the US Open this year, was put under pressure by her younger opponent before finally taking a marathon nine-minute opening game.
Jabeur took brief control of the first set, breaking the Briton’s serve in game four for a 3-1 lead again for a 5-3 advantage, but a gritty Raducanu came roaring back, winning the next five games to take the first set.