Jabeur had a disappointing end to her time in Abu Dhabi, going out to Haddad Maia. When the world No. 14 stepped up to serve at 3-4 in the second set, the Tunisian burst into tears while waiting to return at the baseline. She continued to fight but didn’t win another game for the rest of the match, going out 6-3 6-4.
It was a huge contrast from her opening match as she routined Emma Raducanu 6-4 6-1 just two days earlier. And the three-time Grand Slam finalist has now revealed that she was struggling with a knee injury as she explained why she didn’t mind crying on the court.
“I honestly don’t think about it much. I’m an open book, an emotional person. I like to show myself,” Jabeur said when asked about her emotional moment in Abu Dhabi. “One thing I have learned is to accept the emotion, and if I try to hide it, it will not make me feel good.
“So it’s good to let it out and be done with it than to keep it inside and probably will make more problems for you later. So for me, I really try to be myself, really try to show myself to the crowd and connect with them in the most visible way.”
Jabeur is now in Doha for the WTA 1000 event, where she is hoping her knee injury won’t come back to haunt her. She added: “It’s the sport, it’s tennis. I have been struggling with the knee for a long time, and last week was very, very tough. Hopefully I can recover in time and then play better here in Doha.”
The injury was an old one that resurfaced in Abu Dhabi and was at its worst when Jabeur faced Haddad Maia in the quarter-final. Speaking after the match last Friday, she told The National: “We go way back with the knee, some tournaments it’s good, some tournaments it’s bad.