“I still want a Slam”: Ons Jabeur aims for Clijsters-style comeback after pregnancy

Ons Jabeur joined the podcast Love All, hosted by four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters to talk about her pregnancy and her plans to return to the courts — with hopes of competing again at a high level.

The three-time major runner-up praised the Belgian, saying she would like to emulate a comeback similar to hers: “Sorry, but I want my comeback to be like yours, just winning the US Open right away,” Jabeur joked to Clijsters, who captured the 2009 US Open title in just her third tournament after returning from more than two years away from the Tour.

Jabeur revealed on the podcast that she is currently in the third trimester of her pregnancy and is expecting the birth of her first child around April this year. The former world No. 2 hopes her time away from competition will not be too long and that she can return to play later this same season.

“I want to give my body the time it needs. No pressure on the baby, but he will be my biggest motivation. I feel like I’ll be playing for something other than myself, and maybe that’s what I needed. At some point I really lost motivation. I was lost. I didn’t know where or when I wanted to play.”

“I’m hoping to come back at the end of 2026, but it could be earlier,” said Jabeur. “I just want to play a few tournaments before the new season in 2027, but again, I’ve never delivered a baby, I don’t know what that feels like, I don’t know how my body will react. There are so many unknowns, but I’m putting positive energy around it and I hope it’s going to be great.”

Jabeur enjoyed several seasons as a genuine Grand Slam contender, especially during her remarkable 2022 campaign, when she reached the finals at Wimbledon and the US Open, won the WTA 1000 title in Madrid and finished runner-up in Rome. “I felt like time was chasing me from everywhere. You’re too old to win a Slam, you need to do this now,” Jabeur reflected. “I wanted to have a kid at 25, honestly — that was the plan. But putting timelines on things you can’t control creates pressure. At first it was good pressure, then it became unbearable.”

However, over time her consistency began to fade, and she struggled to make deep runs at major tournaments. Her third Wimbledon final in 2023 ended in another defeat, despite entering the match as the favourite against Czech player Marketa Vondrousova.

At 31, Jabeur has not given up on her dream of winning a Grand Slam title and will aim to be competitive at the highest level upon her return. “I always wanted to win a Grand Slam before having a kid, because of the uncertainty of coming back. But now I’ve let go a bit. I still want a Slam, of course, but I feel there’s something much bigger than winning a Slam. This baby is an unbelievable gift, and I’m so grateful.”

“I’m trying to put myself first. As a tennis player, I never really did that,” added the 11-time WTA title winner. “I was always doing things for the wrong reasons. That’s why I feel like I wasted two years of my career. I could have stopped earlier and healed properly, but at least I’ve learned from it.”