Marketa Vondrousova vs. Ons Jabeur score, result, highlights as unseeded Czech wins Wimbledon 2023 title

Joe Wright

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Marketa Vondrousova vs. Ons Jabeur score, result, highlights as unseeded Czech wins Wimbledon 2023 title image

Marketa Vondrousova became the first unseeded ladies' singles champion at Wimbledon in the Open Era after defeating Ons Jabeur in straight sets on Saturday.

Jabeur, the sixth seed, lost the final in 2022 to Elena Rybakina but had insisted she felt a stronger and wiser player this time around. Yet she never looked comfortable dealing with the pressure of potentially becoming Africa's first SW19 singles champion, nor with handling the unpredictable play of her opponent.

Wimbledon's own AI-generated predictor gave Jabeur a 63% chance of victory over the first unseeded ladies' finalist since 1968, and she certainly made an authoritative start with an early break to take a 2-0 lead, but she seemed to tighten up in the next game as three errors off her groundstrokes gifted the break straight back. Such mistakes were to become a recurring theme of the contest.

Jabeur broke again for a 4-2 lead, but more misses and an increasing composure on the other side of the net saw Vondrousova promptly rattle off four games in a row, leaving a shocked Jabeur wondering quite how the set had got away from her.

Four breaks in the opening five games of the second set underlined the topsy-turvy nature of a match that was played in an almost eery quiet: with the players going for precision over power and the crowd seemingly sharing in the tension, there was little noise echoing beneath the Centre Court roof.

Everyone sensed it was a must-win game for Jabeur at 4-5 and, once again, those errors returned. Three errant groundstrokes undermined good volleys, and when she slapped another shot into the net, Vondrousova found herself serving for the title.

A double fault at 40-0 only delayed the celebrations. When she stretched to put away a backhand volley, the improbable had become real: the unseeded 24-year-old, who had three wrist surgeries after her shock run to the final in Paris as a teenager and watched last year with her arm in a cast, whose husband has spent most of the past two weeks sitting at home to look after their cat, was Wimbledon champion.

Jabeur could not hide her disappointment. "I think this is the most painful loss of my career," was all she could manage at first in the presentation before tears took over. She has now reached three of the past five major finals, and lost them all. Her time, surely, will come.

With Vondrousova, you just don't know what's coming next. She revealed tomorrow is her wedding anniversary, that her coach had promised to get a tattoo if she won a major, that she would likely have a beer and then see where the celebrations took her next. Everything feels improvised, spontaneous, yet completely beguiling.

But she's a worthy grand slam champion, the third woman from Czechia to triumph on this famous court after Jana Novotna and Petra Kvitova. It's hard to predict what will come next — but it'll be fun to find out.

MORE: Wimbledon 2023 final prize money: How much will Jabeur and Vondrousova make?

Marketa Vondrousova vs. Ons Jabeur result

  1 2
Marketa Vondrousova 6 6
Ons Jabeur (6) 4 4

Marketa Vondrousova vs. Ons Jabeur live updates, highlights from Wimbledon 2023

*Denotes server

Marketa Vondrousova* 6-4 6-4 Ons Jabeur — Vondrousova is the champion

Jabeur gets into the opening rally but tries too hard to get power in a backhand. Vondrousova rushes the net and forces the error for 30-0. Two points away. More outstanding defending and a good backhand, and it's three championship points. The first comes and goes with a double fault, but a brilliant reach at the net puts the ball beyond Jabeur's reach! Vondrousova has done it!

Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 5-4 Ons Jabeur* — Vondrousova breaks

Jabeur puts away a confident smash at 0-15, but her forehand in the next point looks very tight. She knows she needs to win this game. Again, she volleys well to level, but the next forehand is wild, and it's break point. And, once more, Jabeur puts a groundstroke into the net on a key point, and Vondrousova will now serve for the championship.

Marketa Vondrousova* 6-4 4-4 Ons Jabeur

That was one of the more routine holds of this contest, Jabeur's backhand looping long at 40-15. We're getting into crunch time now.

Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 3-4 Ons Jabeur*

Excellent from Jabeur to pin Vondrousova back and finish with a volley, but then come another two mistakes. She's just never looked settled against the unpredictability on the other side of the net. Vondrousova lets her off the hook by missing a second-serve return at 15-30, and Jabeur takes advantage. That could be a big hold.

Marketa Vondrousova* 6-4 3-3 Ons Jabeur

Vondrousova throws in a pretty tame double fault at 30-0, as if she sensed a comfortable hold of serve just wouldn't be in keeping with the flow of this match. Jabeur shows good hands at the net, but she pushes a backhand just too wide. Vondrousova reads a drop shot to see out the game.

Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 2-3 Ons Jabeur* — Vondrousova breaks

Jabeur falls 0-30 down but produces a superb backhand winner to break through Vondrousova's defences. The Czech digs out a terrific backhand to bring up a break point, and she forces the error off the Jabeur forehand! We're back on serve again, and if you haven't already given up predicting this contest, you're a bolder person than I.

Marketa Vondrousova* 6-4 1-3 Ons Jabeur — Jabeur breaks

Harry Potter star Emma Watson is in the crowd and I'm sure she'd have appreciated that sliced passing shot from Jabeur, which looked every bit as though it were played with a magic wand. At 30-30, Jabeur goes for power on the return, and Vondrousova overreaches with the backhand. On break point, she puts too much into a forehand, and Jabeur takes a 3-1 lead in this set.

Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 1-2 Ons Jabeur*

Vondrousova's defensive cover is outstanding, but Jabeur has found the clinical finish in the past few points. She's controlling the baseline exchanges and at last cutting down the error count. A one-two punch off the serve and forehand gives her a love hold.

Marketa Vondrousova* 6-4 1-1 Ons Jabeur — Jabeur breaks

Vondrousova eases to 40-0 with some supreme serving, and suddenly it falls apart. After pushing a backhand wide, Jabeur arcs a superb winner beyond the reach of her forehand, and another powerful groundstroke takes us to deuce. Vondrousova double faults, but she saves a break point with a devilish wide serve. Yet Jabeur dominates the next rally, and an instinctive backhand volley gets the break back!

Marketa Vondrousova 6-4 1-0 Ons Jabeur* — Vondrousova breaks

Jabeur has been here before: she lost the first set in three of her matches at this year's championship and came through to win. Right now, though, she looks a beaten player. After dragging the scores back to 30-30 from 0-30, she puts a shot wide and then, yet again, sends a forehand into the net to give Vondrousova the break.

Marketa Vondrousova* 6-4 Ons Jabeur — Vondrousova wins first set

Having looked in control of this set, Jabeur has somehow ended up losing it. She can't capitalise on two second serves from Vondrousova and she already looks deflated. The unseeded player brings up three set points, and she only needs one, Jabeur sending yet another groundstroke into the net. She won just one point in the last four games of that set.

Marketa Vondrousova 5-4 Ons Jabeur* — Vondrousova breaks

After a second serve at 0-15, Jabeur hits a great cross-court winner off the backhand side, then promptly slaps another one into the net. She then misses a routine overhead, and suddenly it's break point again. Vondrousova defends expertly, and Jabeur finds the bottom of the net again. The Czech will serve for the opener.

Marketa Vondrousova* 4-4 Ons Jabeur

Vondrousova looks more comfortable now, serving well and moving with freedom. Two unreturned first serves give her the most straightforward hold of the contest so far.

Marketa Vondrousova 3-4 Ons Jabeur* — Vondrousova breaks

Looking a bit too eager to capitalise on another break, Jabeur loses composure on her groundstrokes and gifts Vondrousova a 30-0 lead. A big backhand from the Czech brings up three more break points, and a stunning sliced passing shot brings us level again.

Marketa Vondrousova* 2-4 Ons Jabeur — Jabeur breaks

Vondrousova drops a defensive volley too long, and Jabeur has the scent of another break — a scent that only gets stronger when Vondrousova mishits her next approach shot. Jabeur once more takes charge in a baseline exchange, and Vondrousova's backhand is long. It's 4-2.

Marketa Vondrousova 2-3 Ons Jabeur*

Jabeur tries that same drop shot again, and this time it wins the point. This has been a very, well, quiet first set, with little noise from the players and plenty of angled groundstrokes rather than powerful swings of the racquet. Jabeur takes the game with a precise forehand winner, which, again, hardly made a sound off the strings.

Marketa Vondrousova* 2-2 Ons Jabeur

Game four begins with an unforced error apiece from these two. Jabeur then takes charge of a rally only to crash a forehand into the net before giving herself a good telling-off. It seems to have the desired effect: suddenly, Jabeur is starting to boss these rallies. Vondrousova faces down four break points, and an errant slice sees her hold.

Marketa Vondrousova 1-2 Ons Jabeur* — Vondrousova breaks

It's so quiet out there on Centre Court — even the crowd seem a little anxious. Jabeur just can't find a first serve at the moment, and she comes off second best in a rally to give Vondrousova a break-back point, but a bold drive volley brings us back to deuce. Three unforced errors off the ground, though, give Vondrousova the break.

Marketa Vondrousova* 0-2 Ons Jabeur — Jabeur breaks

Jabeur hits an overhead winner that barely makes a sound. We're expecting this to be a final about finesse rather than raw power (although the Tunisian is certainly capable of both). A first break point is saved by Vondrousova, but a flat forehand into the net gives Jabeur the early advantage.

Marketa Vondrousova 0-1 Ons Jabeur*

There are some early jitters out there — even among the line judges. The umpire has already made an overrule following an errant call of 'out'. Jabeur misses a few first serves here but gets back to 30-30 with a composed volley. Vondrousova then puts two backhands into the net.

1:55 p.m. BST / 8:55 a.m. ET: The finalists are in the corridor outside Centre Court. We're just a few minutes away from the start.

1:45 p.m. BST / 8:45 a.m. ET: "Sometimes, I'm doing crazy things," is how Vondrousova described her playing style to the BBC. She suspects Jabeur will find it "annoying". We'll find out soon enough.

1:15 p.m. BST / 8:15 a.m. ET: The weather is holding firm at the moment, but it's certainly windy out there. You'd suspect the roof will likely be closed from the off.

12:50 p.m. BST / 7:50 a.m. ET: Jabeur is a recognisable name on the WTA Tour these days, having reached three major finals and gone as high as No.2 in the world in the past 12 months. Vondrousova is more of an unknown entity, having gone through some difficulty since that surprise run to the 2019 French Open final as a teenager.

Before today's action starts, why not read our handy bios of today's finalists?

Who is Ons Jabeur?

Who is Marketa Vondrousova?

12:30 p.m. BST / 7:30 a.m. ET: We're about two hours away from the start of the 2023 ladies' singles final at Wimbledon. We'll be crowning a new champion at SW19 today, whoever emerges victorious.

How to watch Marketa Vondrousova vs. Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon 2023 in Australia

This year's final will be shown on Channel 9's primary channel. 

Pre-match coverage will begin at 10:30 pm AEST, with the action to get underway roughly half an hour later.

Fans can also live stream the match on paid subscription service Stan Sport, which hosts their 4K broadcast, or for free through 9Now. 

MORE: Undesirable No.1: Why Novak Djokovic is the GOAT of men's tennis, whether you like it or not

How to watch Marketa Vondrousova vs. Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon 2023 in USA

Wimbledon matches are broadcast on the ESPN family of networks in the United States. There are several ways to live stream the tournament: ESPN+, the ESPN app, or Fubo, which offers a free trial.

How to watch Marketa Vondrousova vs. Ons Jabeur at Wimbledon 2023 in the UK

Wimbledon remains available to watch on free-to-air television in the United Kingdom. Live matches will air on BBC One, BBC Two and the BBC Red Button, plus BBC iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and app.

Wimbledon is also shown on Eurosport to UK viewers. Eurosport will broadcast the Championships every day on Eurosport 1 daily and then via highlights. Coverage will be available on the Discovery + streaming platform and on Eurosport online, too. 

Joe Wright

Joe Wright Photo

Joe is a Senior Editor at Sporting News. He was previously a sub editor and writer for Goal.com before spending six years as part of the Stats Perform editorial news service, covering major global sports including football, tennis, boxing, NBA, rugby union and athletics. Joe has reported live on some of the biggest games in football, including two UEFA Champions League finals, Euro 2016, the Confederations Cup 2017 and the 2018 World Cup final at the end of a month in Russia.