\u201cWe were surprised and, in the beginning, we couldn\u2019t believe it. But we couldn\u2019t be happier,\u201d Jabeur told The National after her announcement. <\/p>\n
The 31-year-old Tunisian has long spoken of her desire to grow her family and return to tennis as a mother. The WTA, urged by the Player Council, has been working hard in recent years to make the tour a more supportive environment for mothers competing on the circuit.<\/p>\n
Eligible players can now receive a special ranking after going away on maternity leave or undergoing fertility treatment. They can also get paid maternity leave of up to 12 months and receive grants for fertility protection measures, thanks to the Maternity Fund Programme created by the WTA and Saudi Arabia\u2019s Public Investment Fund (PIF). <\/p>\n
\u201cThe maternity programme is unbelievable and I want to thank PIF and WTA for making this happen,\u201d says Jabeur. \u201cI actually spoke to some PIF people in Saudi and I think it\u2019s going to help a lot of us, and definitely me. I\u2019ll be participating in that and hopefully it will make my comeback easier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jabeur has every intention of returning to the tennis tour, and told The National<\/a> before her pregnancy announcement that she is not hanging up her racquet and is simply on hiatus. <\/p>\n \u201cI’m not retiring like most people think, I’ll be coming back someday,\u201d said the three-time grand slam finalist. <\/p>\n In the meantime, Jabeur will be busy focusing on various projects, including her tennis academy, which she plans to launch in Dubai later this month. <\/p>\n Headquartered at HCT \u2013 Academic City Campus, the Ons Jabeur Academy<\/a> has been a lifelong dream for the Tunisian.<\/p>\n While many players choose to wait until they have fully retired from professional tennis before embarking on a project like this, Jabeur feels it will be even more inspiring for the kids at the academy if she were still an active player on tour. <\/p>\n She has a special message for all future prospects at her academy. <\/p>\n \u201cI’m going to be there. I’m going to practice with you guys, and I’m going to share your same experience. And we’re going to do things together. And maybe I need you if I’m serving, you return my serve and we can be there as a huge family and we share this experience together,\u201d said Jabeur. <\/p>\n \u201cI want to be at Wimbledon and win it and then go celebrate in my academy one day; that’s the beauty of it.\u201d<\/p>\n Jabeur\u2019s last competitive appearance was a first-round retirement at Wimbledon<\/a> in July. Shortly after, she shared on social media that she planned on taking an indefinite break from the sport to address her mental health<\/a> as well as physical issues that have plagued her last two seasons.<\/p>\n She hopes spending time at her academy will help reignite her passion for tennis, so she can feel ready to get back to competition after having her baby. <\/p>\n \u201cMaybe it’s a way for me to find the joy again on the court, because seeing the innocence of the kids, there’s nothing better than that,\u201d she explained. \u201cMaybe it will make me remember when I was younger, how I was having fun.\u201d<\/p>\n The Ons Jabeur Academy will feature five Australian Open-style hard courts. <\/p>\n Aref Jellali will serve as academy director, bringing a wealth of experience from his time working with Tennis Canada, and playing key roles in the development of players like Bianca Andreescu and Victoria Mboko. <\/p>\n Jabeur\u2019s long-time coach Issam Jellali \u2013 the brother of Aref \u2013 as well as her husband\/fitness trainer Kamoun will also be involved, bringing a true familial feel to the project. <\/p>\n As someone who spent years searching for a suitable place to train and the right people to work with, Jabeur has a specific vision for her academy. <\/p>\n Tunisian tennis star Ons Jabeur spells out plan to return to sport<\/p>\n She knows her career only took off when she was finally given the freedom to play the way she wanted to play, instead of adapting her game to a coach\u2019s philosophy that didn\u2019t suit her, or a system that forced her to abandon her true self. <\/p>\n \u201cWe want to have an academy where we have a system built for you, where you don’t need to adapt your game to anything,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n \u201cInstead, we observe you as a player, we develop your game, we work on your fitness ability compatible to what your game is capable of. We try to evolve some things in your game, but try to personalise a programme just for you and that’s not always the case with academies.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd you don’t have to become a Wimbledon, US Open or French Open or Australian Open champion. You can come there just to have fun as well. There is no pressure. This world is made of different people and some people just want to learn how to play tennis. Some people, they dream to be No 1 and some just want to add tennis to their bucket list.\u201d<\/p>\n Jabeur plans on implementing the latest technology that would help the academy coaches film practice sessions, analyse performances, and gain access to all the data and statistics necessary to develop the players. <\/p>\n She also says the academy will take over the hosting of the majority of the UAE national tournaments, creating a competitive and vibrant environment for all the players. <\/p>\n While she initially hoped she\u2019d be able to open her first academy at home in Tunisia \u2013 \u201csome haters, they blocked the opportunity for me and they didn’t want it. And I didn’t want to force myself where I wasn\u2019t wanted,\u201d she says \u2013 she believes in the partnership she has with Dubai and Academic City, and says \u201cit was meant to be\u201d. <\/p>\n Her ultimate dream for this academy?<\/p>\n \u201cI want everybody to be a family there, to have a great time. And I want to see more and more Arab and African champions coming out of the academy or passing through the academy or just the academy could help them evolve and be professional tennis players,\u201d says Jabeur. <\/p>\n Killing of Qassem SuleimaniCOMPANY\u00a0PROFILE<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/https:\/\/cdn.jwplayer.com\/v2\/media\/GTj4oCYS\/poster.jpg\")
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