Ex-US Open finalist makes retirement decision during break from tennis

Ons Jabeur has put to rest speculation that she has permanently retired from professional tennis following her indefinite break from competition. The former world No. 2 revealed her hiatus in a heartfelt statement back in July, stating that she needed to "take a step back" and savor "living."

The Tunisian sensation remains one of the most beloved figures on the circuit among peers, supporters, and personnel. However, she's endured significant disappointment, dropping three Grand Slam finals in the past few years — two of which came at Wimbledon and one during the 2022 US Open.

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Jabeur has scarcely picked up a racket since beginning her sabbatical in July, following first-round exits at the French Open and Wimbledon. Yet the 31-year-old remains determined that she will ultimately make her comeback to competitive tennis. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic got emotional after picking up the first win in his new home country.

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Currently, Jabeur has returned to the circuit in a different capacity. The five-time champion is present at this week's WTA Finals in Riyadh, serving as an ambassador for the season-finale tournament.

It marks her first appearance at a competitive event since declaring her break from the sport. The former world No. 2 has remained active beyond the tennis arena, embracing a more conventional lifestyle. A primary factor behind Jabeur's decision to step away from competition was "to rediscover the joy of simply living."

That proved challenging while traveling and competing on a weekly basis. Since stepping back, Jabeur has established her own charitable foundation and is currently preparing to launch an academy in Dubai — though she hasn't closed the door on her professional tennis career.

Jabeur, who has been focused on tennis since she was six years old, opened up to The National about her struggle with finding happiness outside of the sport. "My life since I was six years old was always focused on my training, my tournaments, tennis, and I didn't feel like I, even though I did things outside tennis, it was always either tennis-related or if I want to go on vacation, you always need to count the days because you don't want to miss training. You want to go back on time," she said.

"I wasn't ever free from tennis. Trying to find something that makes me happy outside tennis was difficult and given the very tough two years that I had, it wasn't easy.

"The happy place, the place where I find my joy suddenly became my sadness and basically became the place that gave me depression. And I was kind of scared, and I was thinking like, 'What if I never find joy on the tennis court ever again?'

"But I don't think that will be the case. And I'm not retiring like most of the people think, I'll be coming back someday." Since taking a break from competition, Jabeur has only picked up a racket once during a kids' clinic and is in no rush to return. She stated: "I just want to enjoy and when my mind and body tell me you're ready, you want to come back, then I will come back."

When she does return, Jabeur wants to do so on her own terms and choose her own schedule. "I feel I want to choose my tournaments. I want to make the schedule adapt to me, not me adapting to the schedule," she explained.

"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.

"This is a very beautiful sport and we need to be smart about it. And I just want to be myself on the court. I don't want to feel the stress. I felt so good for the last two, three months that I'm not stressed."

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