Laura Robson feels the WTA needs to do a better job of promoting the stars they have instead of simply hoping that everything would fall into place. At this past Wimbledon, 27-year-old Tunisian Ons Jabeur reached her first Grand Slam final and became the first Arab in tennis history to make a Major final.
In the final, Jabeur clashed 23-year-old Elena Rybakina and it was the Kazakh who won her first Grand Slam title. Jabeur is known as an extrovert and she is one of the most likable players on the WTA Tour. On the other side, Rybakina is a more quiet type of person and she does not seem like someone who particulary wants and enjoys attention.
According to Robson, the organizers and promoters were rooting for Jabeur to win Wimbledon because that would have been a better story. At this past WTA 1000 event in Toronto, Rybakina wasn’t given the Centre Court for her first round showdown versus Cori Gauff.
Robson felt it was a shame to see that happening a player who has just won her first Grand Slam.
Robson: Everyone wanted Jabeur to win Wimbledon
“I know everyone wanted Ons [Jabeur] to win the Wimbledon final because it was the best story,” Robson told Kevin Palmer of Tennis365.
“She’s got a huge personality and she would be the first of however many things to win a Slam. So I think we do have huge characters like that in the game. I think Rybakina is just naturally a bit quieter, but people don’t know her as well, because she’s not played on the big stadiums as much.
And I was looking at the schedule that came out for Toronto. Yeah, it is Toronto’s views every time she was out on almost an outside court, which, which is a shame because she’s just won Wimbledon. So I think the sport in general just has to do a better job of highlighting the plays that they do have, rather than hoping that something better is going to come along, because I think you’ve got some incredible personalities, unbelievable talents,”
