Latest news with #Jabeur
NBC Sports
7 days ago
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Ons Jabeur, battling injuries and unhappy on the court, taking a hiatus from women's tennis
Ons Jabeur is taking a hiatus from the women's tennis tour, with the three-time major runner-up saying Thursday she wants to 'rediscover the joy of simply living.' Once ranked No. 2 on the WTA Tour, Jabeur has battled injuries in recent years and has fallen to her current No. 71. The 30-year-old from Tunisia retired because of difficulty breathing during her first-round match at Wimbledon, where she reached the final in 2022 and 2023, and won't be playing as the hard-court swing begins. 'For the past two years, I've been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges,' Jabeur wrote on Instagram. 'But deep down, I haven't felt truly happy on the court for some time now. 'Tennis is such a beautiful sport. But right now, I feel it's time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living.' Jabeur also was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2022, becoming the first woman since Serena Williams in 2019 to reach the final at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows in the same year. She fell short of becoming the first African or Arab woman to win a Grand Slam title in the professional era, but she climbed to No. 2 in the WTA rankings the next week. She is 15-15 this year after her 2024 season was cut short by a shoulder injury, as she played just once after Wimbledon. Jabeur, popular with other players and fans, thanked the fans in her post. 'Even while I'm away from the court, I'll continue to stay close and connected in different ways, and share this journey with you all,' she wrote.
Hindustan Times
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Hindustan Times
That empty feeling: Why are so many tennis stars losing their joy
Mumbai: To the wider world since becoming a top-drawer tennis pro, Ons Jabeur was the 'minister of happiness'. The Tunisian carried that tag with zestful authority, spreading her infectiously cheerful personality around the women's tour making almost every competitor her friend and viewer her well-wisher. Tunisia's Ons Jabeur reacts as she plays against Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova during their Wimbledon encounter. (AFP) To her inner self for the last couple of years, the minister was feeling the vacuum of the very term that defined her. 'Deep down, I haven't truly felt happy on the court for some time now,' she said. And so, at 30, the three-time Grand Slam finalist on Thursday announced that she was giving her sport — and her ministry — a pause. It's not just Jabeur, several top faces in tennis have spoken up about the lack of joy they experience while giving people the thrill of aces and winners. It's not just tennis, several voices across sports are increasingly bringing up a question that world No.1 golfer Scottie Scheffler asked ahead of the ongoing Open Championship: 'What's the point?' The point reverberating over the course of this Wimbledon edition was just how many and how unhappy tennis' most glowing stars are. That its women's singles trophy was held by a player who returned after a break from the sport to prioritise her mental health was almost symbolic. Alexander Zverev, the men's world No.3, accepted after his first-round defeat that he might need help dealing with 'lacking the joy' on and off the court. 'I've never felt this empty before,' the German, 28, said. Madison Keys, the reigning Australian Open champion, said she did seek help in the past. World No.10 Andrey Rublev has spoken about feeling 'like you are dying' when things don't live up to expectations on court. For many, that feeling is intertwined with form and fitness. Jabeur, the 2022 and 2023 runner-up at Wimbledon, has been battling a dip in physical peak, results and rankings after coming closest to fulfilling her lifelong dream. Zverev, touted for major success, has seen two younger players taste Slam glory before him. In this unforgiving modern world of heightened scrutiny and social media verdicts, a barren phase can further deepen the emptiness that Zverev speaks of. Virat Kohli felt it too. Speaking on RCB's podcast this year, he spoke about being 'exposed' to the attention of his captaincy and batting '24x7' and choosing to step away from the former 'to be happy'. 'Our identity becomes wrapped up in being a tennis player from a very young age,' Keys told Wimbledon. 'When you have tough weeks, months, years on tour, it can really take a toll on how you think about yourself.' But even if you don't have those tough weeks, months and years, that feeling can follow. Ask Scheffler, whose movingly forthright monologue in Portrush touched a nerve and questioned whether what he does is truly 'fulfilling'. 'Why do I want to win The Open so badly? I don't know. Because if I win, it's going to be awesome for two minutes. Then we will get on to the next week,' he said. Ask Ash Barty, the former world No.1 in tennis who retired at 25 as a three-time Slam champion because the entire process started to make her feel 'robotic'. 'We set our sights on a summit and, step by step, we trudge towards that peak... But what do we do when we reach the pinnacle... Do we stop, sit, enjoy the view and breathe? No. In sport, we simply return to base camp,' the Australian wrote in her autobiography. That's the other binding factor to this bereft of joy feeling. The cycle of tournaments and competitions seldom stops across sports, giving little time to those that actually drive it to catch a breath. An April 2025 report by FIFPRO and Football Benchmark reflected how overworked elite footballers that competed in the recently concluded Club World Cup were. Casper Ruud, a three-time Slam finalist like Jabeur, likened playing professional tennis to 'running in a hamster wheel' that just wouldn't stop. Novak Djokovic, who's won 24 Slams running in that wheel, reckoned Zverev's feeling of emptiness was probably due to being 'overwhelmed with so many tournaments'. How does he know? 'I understand exactly what he's going through because I've been through that many times, where you feel empty or less joy or less happiness playing,' Djokovic said, acknowledging this wasn't a subject that was much talked about in tennis before. More and more players now are bringing up the feeling of 'less joy'. More and more are wondering whether they can find it again.
See - Sada Elbalad
18-07-2025
- Sport
- See - Sada Elbalad
Ons Jabeur Announces Indefinite Break from Tennis
Rana Atef On Thursday, Tunisian tennis icon and two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur announced she is taking a break from professional tennis. She said that she needs such a break to "rediscover the joy of living' after a difficult spell in her career." Jabeur retired from her Wimbledon first-round match due to injury against Viktoriya Tomova. The 30-year old player said in an official statement: "For the past two years, I've been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges," asserting: "But deep down, I haven't truly felt happy on the court for some time now. "Tennis is such a beautiful sport. But right now, I feel it's time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living. "Thank you to all my fans for understanding. Your support and love mean the world to me. I carry it with me always. "Even while I'm away from the court, I'll continue to stay close and connected in different ways, and share this journey with you all. Ons." Jabeur became a real icon in women's tennis as the first African and Arab woman to feature in a major singles final, as well as becoming the highest-ranked African and Arab tennis player in ATP and WTA rankings' history when she reached No. 2 in 2022. read more Japan Stun Spain 2-1 to Qualify for World Cup Last 16 World Cup 2022: Get to Know Confirmed Line-ups of Japan and Spain Group E Decider Saudi Arabia Bid Farewell to World Cup after 2-1 Loss to Mexico Tunisia Achieve Historic Win over France but Fail to Qualify Tunisia to Clash against France in World Cup Sports Get to Know Squad of Group D Teams in World Cup Sports Al Ahly Gift EGP 70,000 to Players After Claiming Egyptian Super Cup Title Sports Bencharki Hits First 2 Goals with Al Jazira Since Leaving Zamalek Sports Arsenal Possible Line-up for Nottingham Forest News Israeli-Linked Hadassah Clinic in Moscow Treats Wounded Iranian IRGC Fighters News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Videos & Features Tragedy Overshadows MC Alger Championship Celebration: One Fan Dead, 11 Injured After Stadium Fall Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Arts & Culture South Korean Actress Kang Seo-ha Dies at 31 after Cancer Battle News "Tensions Escalate: Iran Probes Allegations of Indian Tech Collaboration with Israeli Intelligence" News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks Sports Get to Know 2025 WWE Evolution Results Arts & Culture Hawass Foundation Launches 1st Course to Teach Ancient Egyptian Language
Daily Mirror
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
Former Wimbledon finalist who burst into tears on court announces break from tennis
Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur's most recent campaign at SW19 lasted less than half an hour, as she retired from her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova Ons Jabeur has announced that she's taking a break from tennis following her emotional exit from Wimbledon. Jabeur, 30, reached the final of the women's singles at SW19 in both 2022 and 2023 but agonisingly lost both matches. In this year's Wimbledon, her first-round clash with Bulgaria's Viktoriya Tomova lasted just 26 minutes. Jabeur broke down in tears after losing a game and returned to her bench looking distressed. The Tunisian buried her face in a towel and medical staff were summoned for a timeout. They looked at her blood pressure and vital signs before escorting her away from the intimate Court 14. After taking quarter of an hour compose herself, Jabeur returned to the court but ultimately retired in the second set. At the time of her withdrawal, she was losing 6-7, 0-2. Now Jabeur has announced that she's taking time out of the sport to 'rediscover the joy of simply living'. The 30-year-old said in a statement: "For the past two years, I've been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges. "But deep down, I haven't truly felt happy on the court for some time now. Tennis is such a beautiful sport. But right now, I feel it's time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living. "Thank you to all my fans for understanding. Your support and love mean the world to me. I carry it with me always. Even while I'm away from the court, I'll continue to stay close and connected in different ways, and share this journey with you all. Ons." Jabeur is currently ranked No.71 in the world, having once held second spot. She gave no specific reason for her Wimbledon retirement, although did comment: "I wasn't expecting not to feel good. "I have been practising pretty well the last few days. These things happen. I'm pretty sad. It doesn't really help me with my confidence." Jabeur also lost in the first round of the French Open in May and opened up on the strain that tennis has put her through. "Pushing through injury I've been doing, like, my whole life," she said. "We have a lot of guilt inside us saying we're not doing enough or it's not enough, the pressure from sponsors, the pressure from the ranking, the pressure of providing... some players provide for their families as well. It is a very tough sport." Jabeur lost to Elena Rybakina in the 2022 Wimbledon final before a shock defeat to world No.42 Marketa Vondrousova a year later which she described as the most painful loss of her career. She was also beaten by Iga Swiatek in the 2022 US Open final.
New Indian Express
18-07-2025
- Sport
- New Indian Express
Ons Jabeur, battling injuries and unhappy on the court, taking a hiatus from women's tennis
Ons Jabeur is taking a hiatus from the women's tennis tour, with the three-time major runner-up saying Thursday she wants to "rediscover the joy of simply living." Once ranked No. 2 on the WTA Tour, Jabeur has battled injuries in recent years and has fallen to her current No. 71. The 30-year-old from Tunisia retired because of difficulty breathing during her first-round match at Wimbledon, where she reached the final in 2022 and 2023, and won't be playing as the hard-court swing begins. "For the past two years, I've been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges," Jabeur wrote on Instagram. "But deep down, I haven't felt truly happy on the court for some time now. "Tennis is such a beautiful sport. But right now, I feel it's time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living." Jabeur also was the U.S. Open runner-up in 2022, becoming the first woman since Serena Williams in 2019 to reach the final at Wimbledon and Flushing Meadows in the same year. She fell short of becoming the first African or Arab woman to win a Grand Slam title in the professional era, but she climbed to No. 2 in the WTA rankings the next week. She is 15-15 this year after her 2024 season was cut short by a shoulder injury, as she played just once after Wimbledon. Jabeur, popular with other players and fans, thanked the fans in her post. "Even while I'm away from the court, I'll continue to stay close and connected in different ways, and share this journey with you all," she wrote.
