(Tennis news) Iga Swiatek will continue to hold the World No. 1 ranking thanks to Ons Jabeur, who prevented Aryna Sabalenka from overthrowing her in one set. Sabalenka defeated Jabeur in the tiebreaker to win the first set in their 2023 Wimbledon Championships semifinal matchup 7-6(5). The Belarussian played well in the second set as well and appeared to be headed for her maiden final at SW19.

Sabalenka just needed to make it to the final in order to overtake Swiatek as the World No. 1 after she lost to former World No. 3 Elina Svitolina in the tournament’s quarterfinals. Jabeur, though, pulled off an incredible comeback, winning the second set 6-4 and forcing a decider by winning four straight games.

The Tunisian took the third set by storm, breaking serve in the sixth game to win the set 6-3 and advance to his second consecutive Wimbledon final. She fell to Elena Rybakina in the title match last year, a defeat that she atoned for this week at SW19 in the quarterfinals.

Before her semifinal match at SW19, Aryna Sabalenka made an interesting comment on whether or not she wanted to be sidetracked by potential World No. 1 status.

“I’m trying to focus on myself because I know if I’ll start thinking about all this stuff, I’m going to lose my focus on court, my game,” Sabalenka had said at her press conference after her quarterfinal win.

After defeating Aryna Sabalenka, Ons Jabeur will play Marketa Vondrousova in the 2023 Wimbledon Championships crowning match. The Czech defeated Elina Svitolina on Thursday to get to her second Grand Slam championship match; she had previously advanced to the 2019 French Open final.

The third Grand Slam final for Jabeur is underway. Additionally, the Tunisian advanced to the US Open final the previous year before losing to Iga Swiatek, the world’s top player.

Also read: Aryna Sabalenka set to play Ons Jabeur in Wimbledon 2023