An outburst but also a cry of alarm. Last JulyOur Jabeur had announced via social media that he wanted to get oneindefinite breakfrom the circuit to “breathe, heal and simply rediscover the joy of living”. A painful choice, which the 31-year-old Tunisian, former world number 2 and three-time Slam finalist, spoke about again on Sky Sports UK, pointing the finger at the organisers. “Thecalendar is killing everyone. I’m not the first to stop: Haddad Maia and Svitolina did it too. It’s tough, I hope thetennis communitylisten to us and reduce some tournaments. Doha and Dubai are my favourites, but two 1000 tournaments in a row? It’s too much. And then they want to add more.”
The tennis player also contests the idea of spreading some 1000s over two weeks: “I don’t know whose it is, but it’s terrible. No player appreciates it. Not even the media thinks it’s good. We stay too long in the same place, and instead of one week of stress we have two. We don’t have time anymore, it’s just too much.” And that’s why he said enough, “I no longer wanted it to be thecalendar to decidewhat I should or shouldn’t do. I suffered a lot, morementally and physically. My body had been asking for help for a long time and I wasn’t listening.”
Depression and the “Minister of Happiness”
“I think I had onedepressionwithout even realizing it – admits the Tunisian, in the final at Wimbledon in 2022 and 2023 and at the US Open three years ago – Everyone called me theMinister of Happinessbut I wasn’t anymore. I was sad for a long time, but now I put itmyself firstand it’s a huge step.”
The return to the field and the criticism of the system
Ons Jabeur does not know when he will return to the field, or at least he does not set dates. “I’ll be back when I hear it againhappiness to play. It’s time to talk about it and change. They seem to see us asrobots, not like humans. Just: play, play, play. I decided to put everything aside. Luckily I received a lot of support and, even if that wasn’t the case, now I come first.”