Ons Jabeur
claimed victory in an exhibition match due to the retirement of the former
world No. 2
Anett Kontaveit in Tallinn.
The
Estonian tennis player, who won six WTA titles, decided to retire in mid-2023
at the age of 27. Kontaveit explained that she is dealing with lumbar disc
degradation, a condition that hinders her ability to train normally and compete
under regular conditions.
Her peak
came in the latter part of the 2022 season when she secured four titles between
August and October, entered the Top 10 for the first time in her career, and
participated in the WTA Finals, where she lost in the final to the Spanish
player Garbiñe Muguruza.
In June
2022, following her appearance in the final in Hamburg, the penultimate of her
professional career, Kontaveit reached the number two spot in the rankings,
just behind the Polish player Iga Swiatek. Despite her achievements, Grand
Slams remained a challenge, with her best result being the quarterfinals at the
Australian Open in 2020.
After
playing her last match at Wimbledon, a defeat against Marie Bouzkova in the
second round, Kontaveit announced that she would bid farewell to her home crowd
in Estonia and engage in an exhibition match with her friend Ons Jabeur.
The match
ended in victory for the Tunisian with a score of 6-4, 4-6, 10-7, and after the
encounter, Kontaveit expressed her gratitude to the 3-times Grand Slam champion
for the contested duel:
“It is an
honor to be here in front of such a large crowd and to compete against Ons, who
is a terrific tennis player and a fantastic person, and to have Kader, one of
my favorite referees, with us today," she said.
"I am
overjoyed that I was able to say goodbye to everyone on the tennis court once
again. I feel like I've done something really right in my life since I've been
able to bring such an audience here," Kontaveit added.
