Visa mystery solved for Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur

Tennis star said family members did not have a UK visa to watch her play in final

Ons Jabeur greets her supporters with the runners-up Wimbledon trophy. PA

The British embassy in Tunisia said it would investigate after Tunisian Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur said family members did not have visas to watch her play in Saturday's women's final.

Jabeur, the first African and the first Arab woman to reach a Grand Slam final in the modern era, was quoted by the BBC as saying her brother Hatem would “hopefully be there” to watch her.

The visa issue had threatened to break out into a controversy but Jabeur then elaborated there were no visa issues for her relatives because they had not applied for them.

On Friday, her comments sparked a reaction at the embassy.

She told the BBC: “But unfortunately the other members of my family don't have visas. It will be tough for them but they will be cheering for me back home.”

On its official Twitter feed, the British embassy in Tunis said it was cheering Jabeur on.

“We're sorry to hear that your parents and sister aren't able to be there to support you, and we will look into what happened,” it said.

Jabeur lost the match to Russian-born Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.

She then clarified that her parents had not applied for a visa because there was not enough time.

“UK and Tunisia are good,” she laughed. “Good relationships.”