Tunisian tennis star Anas Jaber regrets her family’s absence from the Wimbledon final, the third Grand Slam that will bring her into contact with Kazakh Elena Rybakina today, as she does not have a visa to enter Britain.

Jaber wrote in her column on the BBC website: “My brother Hatem is planning to come from Tunisia and I hope he will be here on Saturday, but unfortunately the rest of my family does not have entry visas … My parents Samira and Reda and my sister Yasmin will not come to my country. “London, but it would be nice to have my brother and possibly a son-in-law.”

Jaber, nicknamed the “Minister of Happiness” in Tunisia, became the first Arab to reach the final of a major tennis tournament and the first African woman in the professional era, defeating Germany’s Tatiana Maria in the semi-finals.

The second racket of the world said that winning Wimbledon was not her dream: “I will not lie to you, winning Wimbledon was not my childhood dream. My childhood dream was always to win the French Open (on clay at Roland Garros).”

27-year-old daughter Ksara Hilala from Tunisia continued: “We didn’t have grass fields in Tunisia, so as a child, I didn’t imagine myself at Wimbledon. But when I reached the quarterfinals, it became a dream. last year because I loved everything about Wimbledon.”

Jaber wants to bring joy to his compatriots, “despite the difficult conditions. In my country, many people have a difficult political situation.”

– inspirational mother –

Jaber spoke about the huge role her mother Samira played in her early career: “My mother was my inspiration. She is a big fan of tennis and brought me to the tennis club when I was three years old. She used to play tennis with her friends and I would comment. After the matches, I would ask how she could lose! .

She continued, “I used to spend all day at the tennis club to the point where I forgot to eat.”

Jaber, who was a fan of American Andy Roddick in her youth, added: “After attending local courses and achieving good results, I entered my first international tournament in Paris when I was ten years old. At the age of thirteen, I went to Tunisia to train and learn at the same time. This was a physical education teacher specializing in gifted children, and he helped me. This is for more learning and development.

Gaber’s first international success came at the Roland Garros Women’s Championship when she won the title “I was crowned in 2011 at the Roland Garros Women’s Championship, but I had to struggle a lot to move from the women’s category to professional tournaments.”

Jaber, who has traveled Hyde Park and St James’ Park during her current London career, spoke of the lucky squirrel she met ahead of her victory over her friend Maria in the semi-finals: “I’ll ask him for help on Saturday! He saw I had food and I ran to me. I didn’t know squirrels could “Stay and chat with you. They usually run. He ate my food. I liked this moment because I love being with animals and in nature. energy and I hope it helps me win Wimbledon.”