Ons Jabeur slams tennis scheduling amid Olympic surface change debate

Oli Dickson Jefford 28 Jul 2024 11:37 AM

Ons Jabeur is playing in D.C instead of Paris.

Ons Jabeur has criticised the upcoming tennis schedule, saying that she doesn’t “think” the upcoming run of events will suit any player.

One of the biggest names internationally in the sport, three-time major finalist and former world No 2 Jabeur has chosen to skip playing the Olympic Games in Paris.

The Tunisian previously sighted her ongoing knee issue as the key reason behind her decision, with the 29-year-old having an injury-disrupted season up to this point.

World No 16 Jabeur is one of several stars who have decided to prioritise the hard-court summer instead of playing on clay, joining Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu in playing at the Citi Open.

Action in D.C. is followed by the Canadian Open across Montreal and Toronto, which begins just two days after the conclusion of the Olympic event in Paris.

Speaking ahead of her campaign in the US capital, Jabeur claimed the schedule did not “suit” any player, and caused an unnecessary complication for those with lingering injuries.

She said: “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.

“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.

“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.

“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 win the medal, why go in the first place?

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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.

“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.

“I don’t see I am the only one that took this decision. I know there are so many players that had different injuries, and they chose not to risk it because of that.”

In her own press conference, Raducanu echoed similar sentiments.

“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.”

US stars Frances Tiafoe and Ben Shelton are among those to skip action in Paris, and the event has been hit by a spate of last-minute withdrawals.

For varying reasons, Jannik Sinner, Elena Rybakina, Hubert Hurkacz, and Holger Rune all pulled out of Paris action this week.