Ons Jabeur Denies Retirement Plans Despite Ending Her 2026 Season Early

Ons Jabeur has not featured in any tournament since she dealt with breathing problems in her first-round match of Wimbledon, which eventually saw her give a walkover to Viktoriya Tomova. The World No.78, with a 15-15 win-loss record this year, announced in July that she would be taking an indefinite break from tennis.

During the ongoing WTA Finals in Riyadh, the Tunisian ace returned to the tour, not to compete, however. She went to Riyadh as an ambassador for the year-end championships. There, the Minister of Happiness made it clear that she intends to make her comeback in the future, that retirement thoughts are not at all on the back of her mind.

Since I was six years old, my life has always revolved around my training, my tournaments, tennis, and I did not feel that, even if I did things outside of tennis, they were always related to tennis, or if I wanted to go on vacation, I always had to count the days because I did not want to miss any training. I wanted to return on time. I never freed myself from tennis.

Ons Jabeur said (H/T: The National)

Jabeur failed to reach a single semifinal this year, and in many tournaments, she retired either in the first or second round. The last title that she claimed was the 2023 Ningbo Open by defeating Diana Shnaider. Last year, she failed to reach a final.

The happy place, where I find my joy, suddenly turned into my sadness and basically into the place that caused me depression. And I was somewhat scared, thinking, ‘What if I never find joy on the tennis court again?’ But I don’t think it will be like that. And I am not retiring as most people think; I will return someday.

Ons Jabeur added

The two-time Grand Slam finalist, however, is yet to confirm when exactly she plans to return. For her, it was difficult to find the “joy of simple living” while competing on the tour.

Ons Jabeur on the hectic schedule

Both players on the ATP and WTA have often requested the governing bodies to make some changes to the schedule because the 11-month tennis calendar leaves them little or no time for rest and recovery. And this in turn can affect their physical and mental health.

High-profile players such as Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek, and even Novak Djokovic want the ATP and WTA to reduce the tournaments or do something which don’t force the players to compete when they are in need of rest. Ons Jabeur has made it clear that when she starts competing again, she will put her well-being before the pressure of playing.

I feel I want to choose my tournaments. I want to make the schedule adapt to me, not me adapting to the schedule. I will honestly try to speak up more and get the tennis community to treat us better as players, to treat us more as human beings than robots that play tennis, tennis, tennis all the time.

Swiatek also recently expressed her wish to skip even the mandatory events if she doesn’t feel like competing next year. The Pole is playing at the WTA Finals and is bidding to win her second title (after 2023). Jabeur featured in the year-end championships twice, in 2022 and 2023.

While being on the sidelines, Jabeur found it a bit tricky to attune to a life without a fixed schedule. But she gradually learned to be more creative and started to spend quality time with her family. She has also started to work on launching her own foundation.

Also read: David Ferrer Responds to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina’s Absence from Davis Cup

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Join our newsletter to receive exclusive updates and curated insights directly to your inbox.

Subscribe NOW