Ons Jabeur’s unexpected mid-match retirement at Wimbledon left everyone in shock. As curiosity loomed over her current physical state, she reportedly refrained from entering the press conference hall amid the toll of her injury. However, the WTA star made sure to leave an emotional message for her fans.
Ons Jabeur Addresses Her Abrupt Withdrawal at Wimbledon With a Short Message
Jabeur was down 6-7 (5), 0-2 against Bulgaria’s World No.111 Viktoriya Tomova, when she retired. The Tunisian player was seen shedding tears and needed medical treatment during a long timeout in the first set.
The former World No. 2 looked uncomfortable playing on Court 14 because of the extremely hot weather. Jabeur was earlier diagnosed with asthma and also had breathing problems earlier this year at the Australian Open.
While reports suggested that she skipped the post-match press conference, a statement from her clarified the situation. The 30-year-old expressed regrets over not being able to continue as she had been training hard to attain good results in the ongoing event.
“I wasn’t expecting not to feel good. I’ve been practising pretty well the last few days but I guess these things happen. I’m really sad. It doesn’t really help me with my confidence and what I keep pushing myself to do, even though it was a very tough season for me. So I hope I’m going to feel better and we’ll see what’s going to happen,” she said.
Ons Jabeur took a medical time out at 2-3 in the 1st set against Tomova at Wimbledon.
She looked very emotional… Tough scenes for the 2-time finalist.
This event means so much to her. pic.twitter.com/Be5l7qvTWJ
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) June 30, 2025
The WTA star also mentioned her plans following the heartbreaking exit.
“Definitely try to disconnect a little bit from tennis and try to just enjoy life outside tennis, recover and spend a little bit of time with the family and hopefully that could recharge me. Definitely ‘rest’ is the word for it,” she added.
Ons Jabeur could not come to press but said the following after her Wimbledon first-round retirement: pic.twitter.com/WFkOjY3L2V
— Reem Abulleil (@ReemAbulleil) June 30, 2025
After Jabeur’s exit, Tomova has now booked a showdown against Sonay Kartal in the second round at Wimbledon.
Ons Jabeur Explains What Made Her Spark the Scheduling Controversy at Roland Garros
Jabeur emerged as one of the many firm voices raised against the scheduling issues at Roland Garros. The Tunisian player penned a message, mentioning how women’s side of the game is being deprived of the prime slots at the major clay court event.
In a recent interview with The National, the WTA star was asked about what forced her to step forward to make the bold move. To this, she replied:
“I couldn’t keep my silence any more. I’ve seen a lot of bad comments and especially after I spoke about the French Open and night sessions and some people were tweeting about empty seats and I’m like, ‘You guys don’t understand anything. You don’t know what’s really happening’.”
“And for me, I’m like, I really cannot keep it inside any more. It’s frustrating to me as a woman, to any woman athlete around the world and I want to be part of the people that would speak up. I would not want to stay silent.”
However, despite the bold attempts from her, Gauff and others, the authorities refrained from undergoing changes in the existing criteria.
