July 17 (UPI) — Former world No. 2 Ons Jabeur will “step back” from tennis so she can heal and “rediscover the joy of simply living,” she announced Thursday on social media.
“For the past two years, I’ve been pushing myself so hard, fighting through injuries and facing many other challenges,” Jabeur, 30, wrote on Instagram, Facebook and X.
“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.”
Jabeur, who currently sits at No. 71 in the WTA Tour singles rankings, retired due to breathing difficulties during the second set of her first-round match against No. 105 Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria at Wimbledon 2025.
The Tunisian also lost in the first round of the 2025 French Open. She advanced to the third round of the 2025 Australian Open, the first Grand Slam on the tennis calendar.
Jabeur was a 2024 French Open quarterfinalist. She made three Grand Slam finals between the 2022 and 2023 campaign, including the 2022 U.S. Open, Wimbledon 2022 and Wimbledon 2023.
Several tennis current and former stars commented with messages of support for Jabeur through comments on her post Thursday on Instagram, including Billie Jean King, Paula Badosa, Mirra Andreeva, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and Wimbledon 2025 runner-up Amanda Anisimova, who took a mental health-related hiatus from the sport in 2023.
“Sending your our support and wishing you a healing break,” Billie Jean King wrote. “You’ll return stronger than ever.”