Ons Jabeur said her thigh injury was “nothing really serious” after needing medical assistance during the second set of her surprise first-round defeat at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Monday night.
Jabeur let a lead slip and grimaced in pain as she suffered a shock 7-6, 6-4 loss to the American Peyton Stearns in front of a vocal Centre Court crowd.
Tunisia's Jabeur, the former world No 2 and three-time Grand Slam finalist, missed the past two WTA Dubai tournaments through injury, but was determined to be part of this year’s line up, which marks the 25th anniversary of the women’s event in the emirate.
Enjoying strong support inside the stadium with several Tunisian flags dotted around the crowd, Jabeur raced into the lead, breaking Stearns in the American’s first service game. Yet she was unable to capitalise and allowed her opponent – ranked 14 places below her at world No 46 – back into the match after serving a double-fault on a break point in the fourth game.
Jabeur even managed to break again and found herself serving for the first set, but failed to close it out, throwing her racquet at the ground in frustration.
During a tight tiebreak, another double-fault saw Jabeur hand Stearns the momentum at 5-6 and the American went on to convert her first set-point to claim the opener.
Dubai resident Jabeur called a medical timeout to assess her left thigh in the second set but battled on, saving three break points. It wasn’t enough though, and her service was broken in the third game and Stearns held on to complete a straight sets win.
“It was pretty tough today,” admitted Jabeur, who arrived in Dubai after quarter-final runs in both Abu Dhabi and Doha in the past two weeks.
“I wasn't 100 per cent, obviously. I didn't think I had enough time to recover from both tournaments, but I was there, trying my best. I didn't want to just retire. I wanted to try more and see how it went.”
On her thigh issue, she added: “It’s nothing really serious. I just wasn't feeling 100 per cent physically. I feel I've been tired; I haven't been sleeping as well as I was hoping to be sleeping. It was difficult to really recover from Abu Dhabi, Doha, and now to come here. I felt it was like a long tour for me. I was hoping to really play good here, but unfortunately it wasn't the case.
“Peyton is a really good player. We practice a lot together, more last year and the year before, but yeah, she's a tough opponent. She has a lot to improve for sure, but I see her in a much better ranking than this. I wish her all the best for the future. She handled moments very well during the match and hope she can make it very far.”
For her part, Stearns – making only her second appearance in Dubai – stood up to the challenge when it mattered most to claim an 11th career win against a top-50 player. She will face another tough test on Tuesday when she comes up against No 7 seed Zheng Qinwen of China.
“I’m super happy with myself that I stayed in the match,” said Stearns. “I fought hard, dug deep, and all that good stuff. Ons is a great player and also a great person. It’s never fun playing those kind of people, but I knew I would need to play well against her.”
Earlier on Monday, No 13 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia was eliminated by Anastasia Potapova 6-3, 6-0, before No 10 seed Daria Kasatkina also lost 6-1, 6-4 to Romanian wild card Sorana Cirstea. Jelena Ostapenko – winner here in 2022 – also slipped out in the first round, with Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima claiming a memorable 6-3, 6-3 win.
Tuesday will see the eight top seeds get their Dubai 2025 campaigns under way, with all four of the world’s top four players in action on Centre Court.
Reigning Dubai champion Jasmine Paolini meets German qualifier Eva Lys in the day’s first match, before world No 2 Iga Swiatek faces Victoria Azarenka and No 3 seed Coco Gauff takes on fellow American McCartney Kessler. World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka will be the last match of the day, when she meets 2022 finalist Veronika Kudermetova.
Tickets are available online at Ticketmaster, through the tournament's official website and directly from the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Stadium Box Office from 9am-9pm daily.
