Tunisia tennis star Ons Jabeur broke down in tears while remembering martyrs of Gaza following her victory over Marketa Vondrousova in the ongoing WTA Finals in Mexico.
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It is pertinent to mention that Ons Jabeur avenged her Wimbledon 2023 final defeat to Marketa Vondrousova with a straight-sets victory. She won the match 6-4, 6-3.
Related – Unseeded Marketa Vondrousova stuns Ons Jabeur to win Wimbledon title
The two-time Wimbledon finalist would now take on Iga Swiatek in the tournament.
However, the 31-year-old – Tunisia’s unofficial “Minister of Happiness” – was not in an enjoying mood as she got emotional while sharing her views on the ongoing Palestine-Israel conflict.
Ons Jabeur says she’s donating a portion of her prize money to Palestine:
“I am very happy with the win but I haven’t been very happy lately. The situation in the world doesn’t make me happy… I feel like… I am sorry. It’s very tough seeing children & babies dying every day.… pic.twitter.com/fVBz9McSjU
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) November 2, 2023
Following the match, Ons Jabeur said she was unhappy with the prevailing crisis before breaking down into tears. She added, “It’s very tough seeing children, babies dying every day.”
“I cannot be happy with just this win, with what is happening. I’m sorry guys, it’s supposed to be about tennis, but it’s very frustrating looking at videos every day. I’m sorry – it’s not a political message, it’s just humanity. I want peace in this world and that’s it,” the athlete added.
She said she had trouble sleeping after looking at the visuals from the war in Gaza.
“I try to stay off social media as much as I can but it’s very tough. You go through horrible photos and videos every day – it doesn’t let me sleep or recover very well. The worst thing is I feel hopeless, I feel like cannot do anything,” she said.
Ons Jabeur added that she has been affected by watching babies, women and people dying every day in Palestine. Moreover, she wished to wave a magic wand and end this and have peace for everybody.
Related – Former India cricketer Irfan Pathan speaks up on Gaza violence
She announced that she would donate part of her earnings from the tournament to the Gaza victims.
It is pertinent to mention that Israeli bombardment has left at least 8,796 people – including 3,648 children and 2,290 women – dead.
Related – Israel says it encircles Gaza City as death toll tops 9000
