The forces of physics and the daunting demands of the game, as Ons Jabeur has learned, are sometimes more than the human body can bear.
“Injuries and setbacks are part of your career,” she told reporters Wednesday at the BNP Paribas Open. “When you sign up to be a professional tennis player, any professional athlete, you know that these things can happen. You have to know how to manage it. One of the things I love and learned, I want to continue to know my body, when to listen when my body has had enough.”
“Injuries are like your enemy, so keep your enemies closer. I like to think of it that way.”
For the first time in more than three weeks, the Hologic WTA Tour’s No.6-ranked player will take the court Friday against wild card Katie Volynets, a surprise first-round winner over rising teenager Mirra Andreeva.
When she’s healthy, Jabeur has a dazzling and diverse game. She reached the finals at Wimbledon the past two years, as well as the 2022 US Open final. For those of you scoring at home, that’s three of the past seven major finals.
Jabeur is a trailblazer, a game changer, a disruptor.
The problem? Her right knee just hasn’t been right. The heated relationship between tendon and cartilage, she said in an interview with WTAtennis.com, is exacerbated by the sudden stops and starts required in tennis. It's no surprise that Jabeur flourishes on the natural surfaces. The knee gets a particularly brutal beating when the game turns to hard courts.
This year, after losing her second-round match at the Australian Open to Andreeva, Jabeur lost in an Abu Dhabi quarterfinal match to Beatriz Haddad Maia. In Doha, she was out after her first match against Lesia Tsurenko. She never made it to the line in Dubai.
“The toughest thing for me is to step back and not play the tournament because, for me, it was very emotional to not play Dubai,” Jabeur said. “Doha, I wasn’t really [100 percent], but I wanted to try, give it a chance on the courts. [Rehabilitation], it’s evolving a lot in this domain. I’m working on it. Hopefully, this injury issue will disappear.
“I think I’m 80 percent. That’s not bad -- I’ll take it. I had nice practices here and am definitely eager to play."
Toward that end, she arrived a week early at Indian Wells to practice and lay a positive foundation that could carry her through the year. There is, of course, more history at stake. By winning her first two matches here, she’ll become the first African player to achieve 50 WTA 1000 victories since the format was introduced 15 years ago.
Despite her happy, self-deprecating personality -- she is famously known as the Minister of Happiness in her home country -- Jabeur to this day seems a little haunted by that Wimbledon final a year ago. After previously losing in two major finals, she seemed ready to collect that last, cherished piece of history.
In a remarkable flurry of all-court skills, Jabeur defeated two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the Round of 16, then 2022 winner Elena Rybakina in quarterfinals and World No.2 Aryna Sabalenka in the semifinals. But in the end, Marketa Vondrousova became the first unseeded player to win a Grand Slam singles title in the Open Era.
Jabeur, a big favorite, lost 6-4, 6-4 -- some 31 unforced errors underlined how badly she wanted it -- and wept openly during the trophy ceremony.
“I’m not going to give up, I’m going to come back stronger,” she told the crowd at the All England Club.
It’s a memory that drives her still.
The reality is that, in all likelihood, that seemingly chronic knee injury may never disappear. The 80 percent she acknowledged may have to be her best the rest of the way.
At 29, she’s aware her time at the top soon will be challenged by the next generation of athletes coming through.
“I do think that we need to wait a bit and see how this year goes,” Jabeur told reporters. “I’m happy for the other players to get the confidence, get the points. … It could show a lot of competition between the Top 50 players and that could be really good for women’s tennis.
“To be honest with you, I see new faces, new people. I like it when they play against me, but it’s OK to bother other players.”
It was typical Jabeur, tongue in cheek.
Why have there been so many breakthroughs recently?
“We’re women,” she said in a stage whisper. “We like to share.”
That drew a hearty laugh from the assembled media.
Laughter -- it’s Jabeur’s superpower. Perhaps it will be enough to carry her over all the obstacles she faces.
