Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur has announced she will step back from professional tennis for her own wellbeing.
Jabeur reached a career-high ranking of number two in the world, but has endured a difficult run and now sits 71st in the world.
The Tunisian made an emotional exit from Wimbledon in the first round this year after she was forced to retire injured during her match against Viktoriya Tomova.
And the 30-year-old has now announced she intends to step away from the sport to look after her mental and physical health and ‘rediscover the joy of living’.
‘For the past two years, I’ve been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges,’ she said in a statement on social media.
‘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 made history when she became the first African and Arab woman to feature in a major singles final at Wimbledon in 2022 but fell to defeat against Elena Rybakina.
Jabeur went on to reach the US Open final later in the year and made it back to the final of Wimbledon the following summer, but she fell short on both of those occasions as well.
The defeat to Marketa Vondrousova on Centre Court stung in particular for Jabeur, who later went on to describe it as ‘the most painful loss of my career’.
Speaking after her first-round exit at SW19 this year, Jabeur said: ‘I’m pretty sad, it really doesn’t really help with my confidence and what I keep pushing myself to do, even though it has been a very tough season for me.’
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