Ons Jabeur’s participation in the WTA Finals in Cancun has been thrown into doubt after she withdrew from the Bank of Communications Zhengzhou Open.
Jabeur had to battle to get beyond Lucia Bronzetti 6-3, 7-6 as she missed out on four match points before finally sealing a win in the second set tiebreak.
However, after the win Jabeur consulted her medical team and decided to withdraw from her quarter-final against Daria Kasatkina.
“I’m so sorry that I have to withdraw because my knee is not feeling so great, and I just want to say I loved my time here in Zhengzhou, and hopefully I can come back next time.
Thank you, fans, thank you for cheering for me. Hope to come back next year,” Jabeur said in a statement published on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The WTA Finals in Cancun will get underway on 29 October 2023, with Jabeur having just done enough to earn her place through the Asian swing.
Jabeur has bounced back well from a heartbreaking Wimbledon final loss earlier this year.
She was tearful after the loss in scenes that moved tennis fans all over the world.
Jabeur has vowed to win the Wimbledon title before she hangs up her racket.
“It’s going to be a tough day for me today. I’m not going to give up. I’m going to come back stronger and win a Grand Slam one day.
“It was an amazing tournament for me. I wished I continued to the end. I want to thank my team for always believing in me.
“We are going to make it one day, I promise you.
“Thank you for coming, cheering for me, the energy is amazing from day one at Wimbledon. I appreciate your support. It’s been a tough journey but that’s tennis.
“I promise I will come back one day and win this tournament.”
Jabeur counts former Grand Slam champion Andy Roddick among her fans and has received his backing to win a Slam.
“Her game draws you in, the emotion with which she plays; I think the variety with which she plays. As a fan of hers, I think it’s simultaneously stressful and amazing that I don’t know what’s coming next,” Roddick told Eurosport.
“But I think the thing that makes me a fan is you hear behind the scenes what other people say about her. And if you hear it enough times, you probably know that it’s true. So I think that makes you a fan also.”
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