Former Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur’s tough season continued Monday when she retired from her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova of Bulgaria at the All England Club in London.
Tomova won 7-6 (5), 2-0.
In the first set, Jabeur and Tomova exchanged breaks of serve before Jabeur broke Tomova’s serve to move within 3-2 in a game that lasted 22 points. At that point, Jobeur requested a medical timeout.
The 30-year-old appeared emotional while medics were checking her vitals. She returned to the match but ultimately retired a set and a break behind in the match.
“I wasn’t expecting not to feel good,” the Tunisian said after the match. “I’ve been practicing pretty well the last few days but I guess these things happen.”
Multiple outlets reported Jabeur, who made consecutive Wimbledon finals in 2022 and 2023 but has not won a Grand Slam title, retired from Monday’s match due to difficulty breathing.
She has also struggled in recent years with a shoulder injury that ended her 2024 season early and with a strained leg muscle at the Miami Open this spring.
“I’m pretty sad, it really doesn’t really help with my confidence and what I keep pushing myself to do even though it was a very tough season for me,” Jabeur said. “I hope I can feel better and see what is going to happen.”
Jabeur, whose deepest run in a tournament this year was a quarterfinal finish in Doha, Qatar, said while she recovers she will spend time with her family and “try to disconnect a little bit from tennis.”
Jabeur is ranked 59th in the world. Her highest was No. 2 in 2022.
Tomova will next face Britain’s Sonay Kartal, who was an upset winner over No. 20 seed Jelena Ostapenko in the first round.
–Field Level Media
