Aryna Sabalenka has shared her sympathy for Ons Jabeur after the latter seemed to sustain a foot injury during their quarter-final clash at the Cincinnati Open.

World No. 2 Sabalenka soared into the semi-finals at the Western & Southern Open in Ohio, defeating fifth seed Jabeur 7-5, 6-3. This was a reversal of their semi-final Wimbledon match last month, which the Tunisian player won 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-3, a result which also prevented Sabalenka from taking the world No. 1 ranking from Iga Swiatek.

During the match, Jabeur seemed to be struggling with a foot injury and was having trouble running for the ball, leading her to call for a medical timeout during which her foot was taped tightly.

In her on-court interview after the match, Sabalenka expressed her joy at making the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 event.

"I'm super happy to be in the semi-finals again," she said.

However, the 25-year-old also said she felt sad for her opponent.

"Right now I'm a little bit sad for Ons [Jabeur], I really hope she'll recover soon and she'll be ready for the US Open. She's such an unbelievable player. She annoys me a lot… in a good way [laughing]. Really tricky opponent. Super happy that I was able to win this match," she added.

Sabalenka will go on to face Karolina Muchova in the semi-finals. The pair have only played each other twice before, with the Czech player taking the win on clay at the French Open but Sabalenka emerging victorious on the hard-court.

"She's a great player, we had really great battle. The Roland Garros was a really tough match, she played unbelievable tennis and yeah, it's going to be great battle and I'm really looking forward for this semi-finals," she said.