It has been more than a year since Ons Jabeur last made an appearance on the WTA Tour. She decided to take a step back from tennis following a first-round exit against Viktoriya Tomova at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. The Tunisian retired from the match while trailing 7-6, 2-0 due to breathing difficulties. She was going through a very tough period at the time, mainly due to lingering injuries. But having given birth to her son Elyan in April, Jabeur is rejuvenated now and is raring to get back into action.

The 32-year-old is targeting a return in 2027. However, she hasn’t provided the fans with any timeline, as her body has undergone some major changes since the delivery of her child.

“I’m hoping to come back, hopefully next year,” she told The National. “I still don’t know the exact time, but very soon. I’m still discovering … my body is a bit changed after the delivery, but I’m definitely coming back and hoping to stay a few more years on tour before actually retiring.”

That being said, Jabeur is really enjoying her time away from tennis, and it’s mainly because of her son. While Elyan isn’t even a year old, he still accompanies her when she goes out to train. This acts as extra motivation for Jabeur, who is gradually trying to make her way back to the Tour.

“I’m enjoying every moment, you know, motherhood it’s been amazing. Definitely will want more sleep, but it’s part of the process. I’m enjoying everything with my son … He actually comes with me when I train. I’m trying to come back slowly,” she added.

Though Jabeur may not have played any matches for the past year, tennis has still been a big part of her life during her long hiatus. She returned to the Tour as Zeynep Sonmez’s mentor in November 2025 before opening up a tennis academy in Dubai later in the same year. All this kept her quite busy during her maternity leave. She has also signed a partnership with Special Olympics UAE to train people with developmental difficulties in Dubai.

The former World No. 2 is still regarded as one of the trailblazers among Arab-African tennis players. She reached three Grand Slam finals between 2022 and 2023, but unfortunately came up short on all occasions. Having once been among the most popular players on the Tour, her long return can even cause a fan frenzy.

But there will be doubts about her condition, as competing on the highest level after giving birth isn’t an easy task. It is also unclear whether she will be able to cope with the demands of the Tour. She had pointed out its tough nature as one of the reasons why players suffer serious injuries and had even asked the WTA to lower the number of tournaments.

Ons Jabeur had criticized the WTA for the Tour’s grueling schedule

“The schedule is killing everyone,” she had told Sky Sports in November 2025. “I’m not the first one to stop playing. I feel like I saw [Beatriz] Haddad Maia stopping, [Elina] Svitolina as well. It’s tough. I hope the tennis community will listen to us and lower some of the tournaments.”

Jabeur further claimed that the majority of the players do not like the two-week format of the Masters 1000 events as it only leads to more exhaustion. She was also against the idea of two Masters events being played one after another.

“I think it’s more like tournaments piling up, for example, Doha, Dubai. It’s my favourite, and I want to play there, but two 1000 tournaments in a row? It’s too much. And I feel like they want to add more. Also the two weeks, 1000 tournaments. I don’t know whose idea it was. It’s such a bad idea. None of the players like it,” she added.

Unfortunately, Jabeur’s plea fell on deaf ears, and the WTA hasn’t made changes to the scheduling of the Tour. If the Tunisian does make her return in the 2027 season, it is likely that she won’t participate in tournaments constantly and will instead take things easy. Jabeur might pick and choose the events where she wants to play, and thus fans may not get to see her regularly on the Tour.