Ons Jabeur burst into tears during her Abu Dhabi Open defeat on Friday. The world No. 6 left commentators baffled as she start crying during the second set of her match against Beatriz Haddad Maia, eventually going out 6-3 6-4.
Jabeur raised alarm bells as she crashed out of Abu Dhabi in the quarter-final. The second seed looked flat against Haddad Maia after a statement opening victory against Emma Raducanu, which she won 6-4 6-1.
As Haddad Maia stepped up to serve at 3-4 in the second set, having taken the opener 6-3, the Tunisian started crying. “Ons Jabeur in tears here,” commentator Mikey Perera said. Anne Keothavong added: “We did suspect something was up. No idea what though.
“Looked out of it in the opening set. Flat, disengaged and she found herself a set and 2-0 down but started to up her level. On serve here but in floods of tears.”
Speculating whether the 29-year-old could be injured, Keothavong continued: “I can’t think what it might be but she has kind of slapped that right thigh a few times.” Perera echoed her claims that Jabeur looked out of sorts but was surprised to see the No. 2 seed in tears.
“Well we did sort of think that she wasn’t looking entirely dialled in in this encounter,” he said. “But I didn’t think it was anything too serious but clearly might be a problem here for Ons Jabeur.” If it was a physical issue, it wasn’t enough to make Jabeur retire.
The five-time title winner continued to battle through some close games as she saved a break point before succumbing to the world No. 13. With Haddad Maia serving for the match, Jabeur continued to challenge her opponent and had three break points. But she couldn’t convert them and the Brazilian advanced to the last four.
After Jabeur’s defeat, Keothavong added: “Thoughts to Ons Jabeur who clearly struggled. We questioned her energy levels and her application. Something clearly was up, we had tears from her in that second set. I’m sure she’ll be able to explain.”
Haddad Maia also paid tribute to her opponent after the match, though she failed to address the world No. 6’s tears. “Ons, as everybody knows, she’s a very nice person, a very important player for women’s tennis,” she said. “She represents us very well. So first of all I respect her a lot because of that.”
