Iga Swiatek comforted Ons Jabeur after the Tunisian retired from their Stuttgart match in a very heartbreaking scene. In the first game of the match, Jabeur sustained a calf injury and required a medical timeout. Jabeur played two more games – Swiatek had a 3-0 lead – when the Tunisian retired from the match.
Jabeur was visibly heartbroken and devastated after being forced to retire against Swiatek.
Swiatek had words of encouragement for Jabeur
Later, Swiatek revealed she told Jabeur they would meet in the French Open final.
“I don’t know what Ons’ situation is, but I really respect the fact that she came out and she tried and she wanted to see how it’s going to go. I told her we’re probably going to play the Roland Garros final, so we’ll see each other there.
She’s a fighter, so she’s going to be back quick. I just hope it’s nothing serious,” Swiatek said, per the WTA website. On Friday, Jabeur defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia to set up a meeting against Swiatek. Jabeur, who met Swiatek several times last year, was really excited about meeting the Pole for the first time this season.
“The third point, I don’t know what happened. I was really excited to play Iga today, it’s always a fun match-up between us. I wish her the best luck for the final. I’m sorry guys, I really tried to run, but Iga never makes it easy,” Jabeur said.
Meanwhile, this was another setback for Jabeur in early 2023. In Australia, Jabeur was dealing with a knee injury and she suffered a second-round exit at the Australian Open. In February, Jabeur had a minor knee surgery. Jabeur then missed the entire Middle East swing before returning to action during the Sunshine Double.
After winning Charleston, Jabeur also made the Stuttgart semifinal. Jabeur was doing great at the start of the clay season but then suffered a calf injury.
