Ons Jabeur is continuing her comeback after struggling with injury throughout the 2024 season.
Jabeur ended her season early last year, with the Tunisian only playing one match after losing in the third round of Wimbledon.
The three-time Grand Slam finalist returned at the Brisbane International, before Jabeur made her major comeback at the Australian Open.
Despite being knocked out in the third round, Jabeur reacted to Madison Keys’ winning her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne.
Jabeur also congratulated Amanda Anisimova on her victory in Doha, but it is actually another American woman that she has suggested should be ranked higher.
Ons Jabeur says Peyton Stearns has the talent to be ranked a lot higher
As one of the fan favourites in the Middle East, players are not always keen on playing Jabeur during this part of the season.
However, someone who thrived under that pressure was American Peyton Stearns, who beat Jabeur in straight sets at the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai.
When speaking in her post-match press conference Jabeur praised Stearns, who is the world number 46, and suggested that she has the potential to be ranked much higher.
“Yeah, Peyton is a really good player,” said Jabeur. “We practice a lot together, more last year and the year before. But yeah, she’s a tough opponent. I think she has a lot to improve for sure. I see her in a better ranking than this.
“I wish her all the best for the future. She handled moments very well during the match. I hope she can make it very far.”
Stearns has backed up her victory over Jabeur, after coming back to beat Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng to obtain the first top 10 win of her career.
As a result, the 23-year-old looks set to match her previous career-high ranking of world number 43.
Does Ons Jabeur have an injury concern?
While Jabeur has been very complimentary towards her opponent, the 30-year-old appeared to be struggling physically after receiving medical attention in her defeat to Stearns.
This was brought to Jabeur after the match, but she played any concerns down and put her physical condition down to a lack of sleep.
“No, nothing really serious. I just wasn’t feeling 100% physically,” responded Jabeur. “I feel I’ve been tired, I haven’t been sleeping as good as I was hoping to be sleeping.
“It was difficult to really recover from Abu Dhabi, Doha, now come here. I felt it was like a long tour for me. Yeah, I was hoping to really play good here. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the case today.”
Jabeur will now have a couple of weeks to recover before returning to action at Indian Wells, with the main draw beginning on Wednesday March 5.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
