Ons Jabeur: "I had fun kicking my husband in the face, it was fun"
Defending Charleston Open champion Ons Jabeur will make her return to tour at the Italian Open this week, following a short injury layoff that saw her miss the Madrid Open.
The Tunisian had updated her fans about how her rehab (from a left leg injury) was going in the meantime. She took to social media to post a couple of videos of her training with her husband Karim Kamoun.
Kamoun, who also doubles as Jabeur's physical trainer, could be seen indulging the former World No. 2 in boxing practice during the sessions, an experience she thoroughly enjoyed.
Speaking to the press ahead of her campaign in Rome, Ons Jabeur touched on how her recovery has gone. She also joked that she really "enjoyed" punching her husband and kicking him in the face.
On a serious note, the World No. 7 noted that it was imperative for her to keep herself physically active during that time, which is why they opted for such a high-intensity workout. Jabeur hopes the training proves productive in Rome, where she wants to be in her best physical state.
"I enjoyed [punching my husband]," she joked. I tried to stay active, keep my physical level at the perfect. For me, I was doing a lot of rehab, a lot of PRP, a lot of mental training to get back stronger," Ons Jabeur said.
"I had fun kicking my husband in the face. It was fun (smiling). I had a little backup after. But I tried to come back slowly, hit few balls, even though sometimes I was actually sitting on a chair hitting the ball. Yeah, I mean, I really did my best, and hopefully I can be ready here in Rome."
The 28-year-old then turned her attention to the recent controversial events at the Madrid Open. Women's doubles finalists, including Victoria Azarenka and Coco Gauff, were prevented from addressing the crowd at the presentation ceremony.
While Jabeur admitted that she did not know exactly what happened, she hoped such a situation never comes to pass again, calling it "unacceptable."
"I honestly don't know what happened. I'm not in Madrid. It gets messy. It's unbelievable. I need to monitor the players more. I honestly don't know what happened. Definitely unacceptable not to give the opportunity for players to speak," Ons Jabeur said.
"I hope it's just a misunderstanding. I still don't have the full picture to see what happened exactly. I spoke to some players. We'll see what happened. For sure I hope this thing will never happen again."
Ons Jabeur admits she's not a "big fan" of extended tournaments
Starting this year, a few ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 competitions have become extended events, with the draw size increasing and the tournaments now lasting two weeks instead of one. The Madrid Open and the Italian Open are among the tournaments that have been modified in such a way.
Ons Jabeur revealed at her press conference that she was not a "big fan" of the changes, opining that it was neither good for the players nor the journalists. While the Tunisian welcomed the extra rest these extensions offer, she did not think the current format was the right one and hoped the WTA would act on the matter soon.
"I'm not a big fan. I'm not a big fan. I prefer that the tournaments stay the same. That's probably also good to rest, but I don't think it's good for any of us, not you the journalists, as well. I don't know what's going to happen. I think a lot of players are talking about it," Ons Jabeur said.
"I think it's better to get the facts straight and talk more to the WTA about it. But definitely I can say that 90% of the players, they don't agree with it. Let's see what's going to happen. I mean, what we try to do is make our sport better. This doesn't help at all."