Tunisia’s Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur says family never applied for UK visa

The finalist of Wimbledon 2022, Ons Jabeur refuted reports that her family couldn’t attend the final match in London as they struggled with visas. The Tunisian tennis star said on Saturday (July 9) that there were no visa issues for family members because they never applied, news agency AFP reported. Britain said it would investigate when the reports were published that some members of her family didn’t get UK visas. But before any proceedings, the player herself clarified. 

The 27-year-old Jabeur said, “I said they don’t have the visa. I didn’t say they applied and they (were) refused the visa.” 

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Jabeur became the first African or Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final in the modern era. But in the summit lash, she lost to Russian-born Elena Rybakina, representing Kazakhstan. 

Jabeur was earlier quoted by the BBC as saying her brother Hatem would “hopefully be there” to watch her. In a report, dated Friday, she was quoted as saying, “But unfortunately the other members of my family don’t have visas.” She added, “It will be tough for them but they will be cheering for me back home.” 

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In the aftermath of the report, the British embassy in Tunis wrote on its official Twitter feed that it was “sorry to hear that your parents and sister aren’t able to be there to support you, and we will look into what happened.” 

In her comments later Jabeur smiled and said the issue had gone “really bad.” She clarified that her parents never applied for a visa because there wasn’t enough time. She laughed and said, “UK and Tunisia are good. Good relationships.” 

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