Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur says her return to competitive tennis in Indian Wells on Saturday was ‘probably too early’ but she is ready to take on the challenge.
The two-time Grand Slam finalist has been absent from the Tour for six weeks after undergoing knee surgery. Coming into this week, Jabeur had only played five matches this season, winning three of them.
Returning to action in the Californian desert this weekend, Jabeur battled to a 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, win over Poland’s Magdalena Frech in what was at times a testing encounter. Getting broken three times in the match, the world No.4 won 79% of her first service points compared to only 41% of her second.
“It’s a tough decision to come back, and I was the one that insisted that I come back in Indian Wells and Miami. It was probably too early to come back, but I just made it a new challenge for myself,” Jabeur explained during her press conference.
“I did regret it after the first set. But then I just told myself to accept what’s happening, to fight through it, and to just see how it goes. I’m sure it will get better and better every match.”
Assessing her current fitness, Jabeur estimates that her knee is roughly 80% fine and she is currently not experiencing any pain in the area. Although the question is why has she decided to return to competition quicker than some have recommended?
“I’m an athlete and it’s tough to stay out of competition for a long time. I was missing being on the court. I just didn’t want to go behind in the ranking too much. I already missed two 500s and a 1000 and there are two 1000s coming,” she said.
“I was like, okay, I’m going to go and get prepared, even here and Miami, and see what’s gonna happen. I just twisted it a little bit. I made it like a challenge for myself to see if maybe physically I’m not ready, then I can challenge my mental health or really get my brain working for once.”
Jabeur is defending 390 points in Indian Wells after reaching the semi-finals of the tournament last year. Then later this month, she has a golden opportunity to add to her tally in Miami where she crashed out in the second round in 2022.
It remains to be seen how Jabeur will physically hold up as the tournament progresses with her next opponent, Marketa Vondrousova, set to be a stern test. Vondrousova has dropped only six games in her first two matches played in Indian Wells. In the first round she beat Canada’s Rebecca Marino 6-2, 6-2, before crushing 28th seed Marie Bouzkova 6-1, 6-1.
“It’s going to be a great match. I know how much she loves to play on this surface, so it’s gonna be another challenge for me, for sure.” She said ahead of her next match.
Jabeur is aiming to win her second WTA 1000 title in Indian Wells after Madrid last year.
