Tennis news: Ons Jabeur to donate part of winnings to Palestinian aid

Ons Jabeur won her first WTA Finals match on Wednesday by defeating Marketa Vondrousova in straight sets 6-4 6-3, but it was what she did after the match that was more important. In an emotional on-court question and answer with a reporter, Ons Jabeur revealed she will be donating part of winnings at the WTA to help Palestinian aid efforts. She also stated she wasn’t making a political statement but a humanitarian one.

Jabeur said she tries to stay off social media, which can be a fairly toxic environment, but lately when she has been on she has seen horrific videos and images of what is going on to civilians in the Gaza Strip. The Tunisian and WTA No. 7 said she simply wanted there to be “peace” in the world and indicated if she could in any way she would. This included the donation of part of her prize money from the WTA year-end tournament.

Said Jabeur, “It’s very tough seeing children, babies dying every day. It’s heartbreaking. So I’ve decided to donate part of my prize money to help the Palestinians. 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.”

Ons Jabeur makes a special announcement this week at the WTA Finals

Ons Jabeur did not specify how much money she would be donating, but she doesn’t really have to. The important part is that she simply is trying to help others. Jabeur also might not yet be done at the WTA Finals.

She has a match on Friday against WTA No. 2 Iga Swiatek and Jabeur must win to move on to the semifinals. Swiatek has been playing terrific tennis, however, and hasn’t dropped a set at the Finals. Meanwhile, Ons Jabeur lost No. 3 Coco Gauff on Monday in the round-robin event.

One might partly feel inclined to root for Jabeur on Friday simply because that increases her chances of making even more money at the event and that might mean a bigger donation to help. Added Jabeur, “I’m sorry, it’s not a political message. It’s just humanity. I want peace in this world and that’s it.” We all should hope for that as well.