'Heartbroken' Ons Jabeur fights back tears as tennis star donates prize money to Palestine

Ons Jabeur emotionally announced that she will donate part of her WTA Finals prize money to Palestine in a call for 'peace in this world'.

The Tunisian claimed a 6-4 6-3 win over Marketa Vondrousova on Wednesday night to avenge her Wimbledon final defeat in July.

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Victory was her first in the Chetumal Group having lost 6-0 6-1 to Coco Gauff on Tuesday, with a semi-final spot still up for grabs.

Jabeur won her 36th match of 2023 against Vondrousova, but cut a tearful figure afterwards amid the current conflict in Gaza.

"I am very happy with the win but I haven’t been very happy lately," she said. "The situation in the world doesn’t make me happy.

"So I feel like...I am sorry," she added whilst taking a pause and a breath, with the interviewer consoling her and saying: "It's ok."

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Jabeur then regained her composure and said: “It’s very tough seeing children and babies dying every day. It’s heartbreaking.

"I have decided to donate part of my prize money to help the Palestinians. I can’t be happy with this win.

"It is not a political message, it is humanity. I want peace in this world. That’s it.”

Jabeur has already won around £324,000, with players reportedly winning in the region of £162,000 as a participation fee and for each round robin victory.

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Should she go all the way, she could be set to win around £1.15million in prize money.

Up next for Jabeur in Cancun, Mexico is a clash against world no.2 Iga Swiatek, who won both matches against Gauff and Vondrousova.

She sits top of the Chetumal Group thanks to her 2-0 record, with Jabeur in third heading into the final match.