Ons Jabeur calls out Olympic scheduling: “I don’t think the schedule of this year suits any professional tennis players”

Ons Jabeur criticized the tennis schedule amid surface changes for the Olympic Games. The three-time Grand Slam runner-up decided not to participate in Paris 2024 due to knee problems, and the quick return to clay could potentially harm her.

The Tunisian chose not to travel to Paris and is instead in the US to compete in the WTA 250 DC Open on hard courts starting Monday. Jabeur commented that the Tour schedule and the timing of the Olympics complicated her situation due to the physical repercussions involved.

“I didn’t want to make the same kind of mistakes"

The demanding WTA and ATP Tour seasons increasingly challenge players with injuries throughout the year. Not only are tournaments played almost year-round, with only a few weeks off in December used by several players to start preseason training, but surface changes are also complicated.

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In April, the clay swing began and lasted nearly two months until the end of the French Open. The following week, grass-court tournaments began, lasting just over a month until the end of Wimbledon. With less than two weeks until the Olympics, several players questioned whether returning to clay for just one tournament would be good for their health, especially as hard-court tournaments return during the North American swing.

More players are suffering from injuries throughout the year, and Jabeur is one of them. She chose to travel directly to the US and avoid adapting to clay again in such a short time: “I didn’t play the Olympics because of the surface changes. Since I have knee problems, it would be a very tough decision to take.”

Ons Jabeur at the 2024 Australian Open.

“It would probably make me not be able to play for the rest of the season. I’m managing my knee so much – probably people don’t know what’s happening on the inside,” the former world No. 2 added. “It was a very tough decision not to go to the Olympics – but I’m very happy to be here. I haven’t played a lot of matches this year. I basically skipped the beginning of the year.”

Jabeur is not the only one mentioning physical prevention during these weeks, as players like Aryna Sabalenka, Paula Badosa, and Emma Raducanu also wanted to avoid physical repercussions. “I didn’t want to make the same kind of mistakes and go and not be 100%. If I didn’t feel like going there and winning the medal, why go in the first place?” Jabeur added.

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“With my injury, I just need more time to get ready for the clay. In general, just changing the surfaces, it’s tough to go from grass to clay. Since I already changed from hard to clay, clay to grass, grass to hard, it would add one more surface to me.”

Jabeur criticized the tight time between the Olympics and the next WTA 1000 at the Canadian Open, which starts on August 6 in Toronto, just two days after the Olympics final on August 4. This does not consider the need to switch from clay to hard court and travel from France to Canada in under two days.

“You can see the timing between the Olympics and Toronto is really, really tight. Honestly, I don’t think the schedule of this year in general suits any professional tennis players,” Jabeur said. c. I know there are so many players that had different injuries, and they chose not to risk it because of that.”

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Similarly, 2021 US Open champion Raducanu commented that she is in a similar situation, as recent injuries, including surgeries, could be complicated if she overexerts her body with surface changes: “The change in surface isn’t the best thing for me right now. In the future, maybe it would have been,” she said.

“At this moment in time, I think switching to clay straight after grass, it’s such a big contrast, then back onto the hard courts, I didn’t want to risk anything. For me, this option was just a lot better,” Raducanu added.