Marcelo Arevalo Becomes First Wimbledon Champion to Hail from El Salvador

Marcelo Arevalo has earned a historic Wimbledon title.

The 35-year-old Salvadoran professional tennis player and Jelena Ostapenko outlasted Storm Hunter and Marc Polmans to capture the mixed doubles title at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Marcelo Arevalo & Jeļena Ostapenko
The tournament’s second seeds produced a stirring comeback to defeat the Australian duo 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in a one-hour, 56-minute thriller on Centre Court, recovering from a set-and-a-break deficit to capture their maiden mixed doubles major title and their first Wimbledon crown.

“In the second set, we were down a break. But I told myself just fight ‘til the last moment [and it worked],” Ostapenko said during the trophy ceremony. “Marcelo is an unbelievable player, such a positive person. These positive vibes helped us a lot.”

Following Thursday’s triumph, Arevalo not only secured his third Grand Slam title, but he became the first player from El Salvador to be crowned a Wimbledon champion.

“It means a lot, coming from El Salvador, a country that is not known for tennis,” Arevalo added. “I’m just grateful to be here… I just want to keep inspiring [the people] in my country and the kids in my country to make them believe that when you put a lot of effort and you believe in your dreams, you can achieve big things in life.”

Meanwhile, it’s the third major trophy for Ostapenko. The 29-year-old won the Roland Garros women’s singles crown in 2017 and the women’s doubles trophy at the US Open in 2024 with Lyudmyla Kichenok.

Despite the defeat, Polmans expressed his happiness and congratulated Arevalo and Ostapenko on their triumph.

“I loved every second here this afternoon,” Polmans said. “Thank you, everyone, for the awesome atmosphere. It was a very close match. Congrats to Jelena and Marcelo. Great match. I enjoyed it out here.”

Arevalo will have a chance to leave London with more glory on Saturday when he competes in the men’s doubles final alongside Mate Pavic.

Cabal Claims First Grand Slam Title for Colombia in More Than 40 Years

Life’s a grand slam for Juan Sebastian Cabal…

The 30-year-old Colombian tennis player and his partner Abigail Spears defeated second-seeded Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig 6-2, 6-4, in the final on Sunday to take home the mixed doubles title at the Australian Open.

Juan Sebastian Cabal & Abigail Spears

This was only the second Grand Slam event as a team for Spears and Cabal, who lost in the first-round at the French Open last year.

With the victory, Cabal is celebrating his Grand Slam breakthrough, having been runner-up with Argentine Eduardo Schwank in the 2011 French Open men’s doubles. He had never advanced beyond the quarterfinals in previous mixed doubles at Melbourne Park.

Spears and Cabal built on a brilliant 4-0 start to grab the opening set and continued to apply pressure with their consistency through the second. At 4-4, Dodig double-faulted to lose his serve and Cabal stepped up to close out the victory.

Cabal is the first Colombian in more than 40 years to win a Grand Slam.

Previously, Ivan Molina and Martina Navratilova teamed up to win the 1974 French Open mixed doubles title, beating Rosie Reyes Darmon and Marcello Lara 6–3, 6–3 in the final.

Cabal & Abigail Spears Reach Mixed Doubles Final at Australian Open

Juan Sebastian Cabal is getting a second chance to become a Grand Slam champion…

The 30-year-old Colombian tennis player and his partner Abigail Spears defeated Elina Svitolina and Chris Guccione, 7-6, 6-2, in the semifinals to reach the Mixed Doubles championship round at this year’s Australian Open.

Juan Sebastian Cabal & Abigail Spears

It’s Cabal’s second appearance in a Grand Slam final, his first in mixed doubles. He previously played in the 2011 French Open men’s doubles final with Eduardo Schwank, losing a close match to Daniel Nestor and Max Mirnyi in three sets.

Cabal and Spears will play Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig in the mixed doubles final on Margaret Court Arena.

It’s only the third time a Colombian player has reached a Grand Slam final. Following Cabal’s appearance in the 2011 French Open men’s doubles final, Robert Farah appeared in the mixed doubles final at last year’s Wimbledon. He and partner Anna-Lena Grönefeld lost to Heather Watson and Henri Kontinen in straight sets.