A tearful Ons Jabeur overcame an asthma flare-up en route to winning her second round match at the Australian Open.
The two-time Wimbledon finalist took a medical timeout just three games into her match against Colombia’s Camila Osorio but managed to recover and win 7-5, 6-3. Jabeur was coughing and tapping her chest during the early stages of her encounter before later explaining the problem was related to asthma which she was diagnosed with as a child.
“Very, very tough to breathe. When I was younger, I was diagnosed with asthma,” Jabeur explained during her press conference.
“I tried to use the inhaler, and it didn’t really help. So I was with the doctor, and let’s see. We’re going to do some more tests and see what’s going on.
“I had to not play long rallies. Not the best opponent when you are in this condition, but I apologized at the end of the match because I really don’t want to behave like this on the court.”
Jabeur is currently ranked 39th in the world after ending her 2024 season early due to a shoulder injury. She admits she would have considered retiring from her match against Osorio if she had lost the opening set due to her breathing issues.
The Tunisian said she has previously experienced issues with her breathing in the past but has usually been in ‘tougher conditions.’ Asthma is a common lung problem that causes inflammation and narrowing of the airways which makes it difficult to breathe.
“Usually when it’s tougher conditions than this, and it happens also at practice, but I can manage at practice.” She said.
“Sometimes I try not to really talk about it because people will blame it on my fitness, which I let them.”
Despite her physical issues in recent times, Jabeur remains confident that she will return to the top of women’s tennis. She has been ranked as high as No.2 in the world and has won five WTA titles. This time last year she was the sixth seed at the Australian Open.
“I would say health-wise, if I’m healthy, I feel like I can do better, but I need to be patient. I need to respect also my body, and my limits kind of. But everything takes time.” She explained.
“The good thing with tennis, is you never know what could happen. Sometimes you can play unbelievable tennis in two weeks. I know that I have the level. I know I’ve been there. I’ve been to a finals. I’ve been in big tournaments. Level-wise I was really playing well.
“I just need to be patient and just kind of execute the shot that I normally do during practice.”
Janeur will play eighth seed Emma Vanarro in the third round.
