Ons Jabeur’s coach, Issam Jellali, has revealed details about the mental distress the Tunisian player experienced following her defeat at the Australian Open 2023. Jellali, in an interview for Jabeur’s documentary titled ‘This is Me’, discussed the medical assistance she required after the match, as she experienced difficulty breathing and turned pale. Jellali stated in the documentary:
Jabeur herself also shared her thoughts on the challenging period she faced a year ago, following her loss to Marketa Vondrousova. She expressed gratitude towards her team for their unwavering support and acknowledged the valuable lessons she learned from that experience. Jabeur shared with The National:
Since her mental breakdown, Jabeur has been more selective in the tournaments she participates in. Ahead of the Australian Open, she chose to skip all warm-up events and focus primarily on practice. Although this strategy did not yield the desired results, Jabeur is taking a long-term perspective.
In the upcoming second round of the Abu Dhabi Open, the Tunisian player will be competing against an opponent yet to be determined. The match is scheduled for Wednesday. Jabeur aims to make a strong comeback in a familiar setting after her early exit from the Australian Open this season.
She has prior experience playing at the Zayed Sports City Stadium Court, where she participated in the Mubadala World Tennis Championship exhibition match.
It is important to note that the Abu Dhabi Open is part of the extended Middle East swing, which includes stops in Doha and Dubai.