Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur received a hero's welcome when she returned to Tunisia on Wednesday.
The history-making tennis player was greeted by hundreds of fans when she made her way out of the Tunis-Carthage International Airport in the capital of Tunis.
Jabeur was presented with flowers and was swarmed by supporters, reporters and television cameras. She posed for selfies and signed autographs as supporters got up close to the 27-year-old.
Jabeur has spent much of her career breaking new ground for African and Arab tennis, particularly women's tennis. She was the first Arab to win a WTA Tour title - achieved in Birmingham last summer - and the first to win a Masters tournament when she lifted the Madrid trophy in May.
She is also the highest-ranked African or Arab player, male or female, in history. Having entered Wimbledon as the world No 2 and despite reaching the final, Jabeur has slipped to fifth in the rankings after the tournament was stripped of ranking points by the WTA Tour.
Last Saturday, Jabeur had the chance to add another major piece of history to her career by becoming the first African or Arab female to win a Grand Slam title when she competed in the Wimbledon final. However, after taking a one-set lead, Jabeur fell to a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 defeat to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina.
Despite the disappointment, Jabeur vowed to come back stronger and is determined to become a Grand Slam champion.
“I don't disbelieve in myself and I know that I'm going to come back and win a Grand Slam, for sure,” she told reporters after the Wimbledon final. “This is tennis, and it's part of it. I have to learn from it, definitely. But I'm very, very positive about it."
Check out the photos from Jabeur's return to Tunisia in the photo gallery above. To move on to the next photo, click on the arrows or if using a mobile device, simply swipe.
