An asthma attack leaves the Tunisian tennis player in tears as she fights through her second round match.
Ons Jabeur was in tears after struggling to breathe three games into her Australian Open match against Camila Osorio, but the Tunisian fought back bravely to book her place in the third round.
The 30-year-old three-time Grand Slam finalist is aiming to return to the top after a career-threatening shoulder injury last year, but was left in tears as she suffered from asthma during Thursday’s match.
The former world number two has fallen to No. 39 due to fitness issues and was forced to pull out of several tournaments last year, including the US Open and the Paris Olympics.
Jabeur finished her season in September and will not return to action until early 2025. She said the long period of absence left her vulnerable to asthma-related problems.
“I was diagnosed with asthma when I was younger, so stripping a lot didn’t help. I think it provoked it even more,” she told reporters after her 7-5 6-3 win over the Colombian.
A routine victory seemed unlikely when the three-time Grand Slam runner-up collapsed on a chair, coughing while tapping her chest, after taking a 2-1 lead in the first set.
Jabeur wiped away tears before leaving the field for medical attention and later returned to win despite not being at her best for the remainder of the competition.
“It was very difficult to play,” Jabeur said.
“Very, very difficult to breathe.
“I had to not play long rallies. I played Camila. I’m not the best opponent when you’re in this state, but I apologized at the end of the match because I really don’t want to behave like this on the court.
“I tried to manage. Fortunately, I played very well. That really helped pump me up. If I had lost the first set, it would have been very difficult to continue.”
The two-time Wimbledon runner-up, who is bidding to become the first African and Arab woman to win a major, said she is still not 100 percent at the level needed to return to the top 10.
“But it comes to that,” she said.
“I don’t want to be greedy right after coming back from injury. Sometimes I get mad because I feel like I’m going back there, but every time something happens.”
Jabeur, a quarter-finalist at the 2020 Australian Open, meets eighth-seeded American Emma Navarro in the next round.
Jabeur said she doesn’t usually talk about her asthma problem.
“We’ll have to manage, you know, like we always do,” she said.
“I think I’m going to have to find a way to feel better for the next two days, which I hope so because this started two or three days ago. I feel like it got worse for some reason.
“I’m really just taking it minute by minute and seeing how it goes, but I’m definitely doing everything I can to be ready.”
She faces a tough third-round clash against Navarro, who came back from the brink to beat 108th-ranked Wang Xiya of China in three sets.
Jabeur won their only previous meeting, 6-3, 6-2, on clay in Navarro’s hometown of Charleston in 2022.
