Ons Jabeur Is Not the First Female African Player To Reach the Grand Slam Semi-Finals
The Claim
Ons Jabeur is the first Arab, African, and Tunisian female player to reach the Wimbledon Grand Slam tennis tournament semi-finals.
News posted on
Emerging story
Social media accounts across the MENA region have been circulating news claiming that the tennis player Ons Jabeur is the first Arab and African woman to reach the Grand Slam tennis tournament semi-finals after her quarter-final victory in Wimbledon.
Photo Description: Screenshots of the circulating claim in Arabic.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar investigated the claim and found it to be misleading, as Ons Jabeur is not the first African female player to reach the Grand Slam tennis tournaments. Two South African female players have accomplished this feat in previous years.
Wimbledon Semi-finals
In 1983, the South African player Yvonne Vermaak reached the Wimbledon Grand Slam tennis tournament semi-final, becoming the first African woman to do so. Ons Jabeur is considered the first Arab and the second African woman to reach the semi-final stage.
Photo Description: Yvonne Vermaak’s tennis records.
The French Open and the Australian Open Tennis Tournaments
Over a decade following Vermaak’s achievement, South African player Amanda Coetzer reached the Australian Open semi-finals twice in 1996 and 1997. She also reached the semi-finals of the French Open, known as Roland-Garros, in 1996. These are considered the best results for an African female player in the four tournaments.
Photo Description: Amanda Coetzer’s tennis records.
Kevin Anderson is the First South African to Reach two Grand Slam Finals
South African player Kevin Anderson is considered the first African professional in both the men’s and women’s classification to reach the Grand Slam finals twice in the US Open in 2017 and Wimbledon in 2018. However, he did not win the title.
Photo description: Kevin Anderson’s player profile and tennis records.
Ons Jabeur in Wimbledon’s Semi-Finals
The social media claims have emerged after Ons Jabeur defeated the Czech player Marie Bouzková to reach the 2022 Wimbledon semi-finals, becoming the first Arab to do so.
The Grand Slam
There are four annual Grand Slam tennis tournaments in Australia, Paris, London (Wimbledon), and finally the United States taking place in January, May, June, and August respectively.
Translated by Rend Beiruti
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