BERLIN/STARNBERG, June 20, 2022
Top seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia claimed her third WTA Tour career title, lifting the bett1open trophy after No. 8 seed Belinda Bencic had to retire due to injury in Sunday’s championship match in Berlin.
Bencic suffered an ankle injury in the final game of the opening set, and though the 25-year-old Swiss continued for three more games, she stopped the match while trailing 6-3, 2-1.
An unfortunate end for @BelindaBencic who has been forced to retire due to injury ❤️🩹
Final match score 6-3, 2-1 ret. for Jabeur.#bett1open pic.twitter.com/VAHpmWAoOZ
— wta (@WTA) June 19, 2022
“I think [Jabeur] really deserves this title and she’s playing great tennis at the moment,” Bencic said afterwards, quoted by the WTA Tour website.
“I played maybe one match too much. Four heavy three-setters maybe didn’t help my legs to be steady today. But I’m really happy with this tournament, I’m really happy with my level, and sometimes this happens. It’s kind of for sure a bittersweet moment.”
Jabeur earned her second title of the season following her triumph at the WTA 1000 event in Madrid. The 27-year-old will next head to Eastbourne, where Jabeur is set to partner with 23-times Grand-Slam champion Serena Williams for the doubles event. The US-American is making her return to the tour a year after her last match.
Yalla! 🏆
A jump in the water to celebrate never hurt nobody 🤣💧 pic.twitter.com/4RpqCXzNzR
— Ons Jabeur (@Ons_Jabeur) June 19, 2022
