Charleston Open 2023: Ons Jabeur captured her first Grand Slam title this year after defeating Belinda Bencic

World No. 5 Ons Jebeur defeated Belinda Bencic in straight sets to win the Charleston Open 2023 tennis tournament in Charleston, South Carolina on Sunday.

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Jebeur beat Belinda 7–6, 6–4 to win her first Grand Slam trophy of the season at the Charleston Open 2023. Moreover, This is the third WTA title of her career. Jabeur also avenged his three-set loss to Bencic in the final of the same tournament last year. With the loss, Bencic's winning streak of 10 consecutive matches in Charleston was also broken.

"I'm glad that I'm finding my rhythm and I hope my body will allow me to play. I'm excited to go to Stuttgart, Madrid, Rome. Clay is really amazing and I love it. I'm working on a lot of things and it's going my way, so for me: step by step, and I'm going for the Grand Slam this year." Jabeur said looking ahead to the European claycourt swing.

Jabeur, who missed tournaments in Doha and Dubai earlier this year and made early exits in Indian Wells and Miami, said self-belief had helped her rise to the challenge of facing Olympic champion Bencic. "If you want to do something, believe in it and only you can really manifest it. I was doing that, imagining myself holding the trophy. I was imagining myself in the photoshoot after, putting the image that I won that title already, and it happened. I'll manifest the big trophy sets, the Wimbledon one, and other Grand Slams that I want to win."

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Jabeur came up short in two major finals in 2022, losing to Elena Rybakina at Wimbledon and Iga Swiatek at the U.S. Open. But the Tunisian is rediscovering her best form again this year after minor knee surgery in February. Victory against Bencic at the Charleston Open 2023 was Jabeur's 38th on clay since the start of the 2020 season, the most by any women's player in that period. This makes the 28-year-old a strong contender for the French Open starting next month.