If you’ve been anywhere near tennis Twitter lately, you probably saw the buzz about Ons Jabeur “returning to the tour” as a mentor. The rumor spread fast as fire, with some suggesting she was teaming up with Turkish rising star Zeynep Sonmez, almost as if it were a done deal. With Jabeur currently away because of her pregnancy, is it actually happening? Jabeur herself has just weighed in.

helmi attia, a user on X, was the one who shared the news that Sonmez had formed a new team led by Ons Jabeur’s long-time coach, Issam Jellal, as head coach and Jabeur as a mentor. The rumors were soon, however, disproved by Jabeur herself, who gave clarification:

“Thanks, but she’s just going to come train at the academy,” she commented on the post. There is no official coaching, no undercover mentoring, just a young player who is getting the training of the world at the Ons Jabeur Academy in Dubai. Meanwhile, Jabeur clarified her plans of supporting Sonmez by saying, “We’re going to try to help her inshallah with the whole team.”

Sonmez has already had an impressive journey. She won her first WTA title at the Mérida Akron Open in Mexico in 2024, becoming only the second Turkish woman, after Çağla Büyükakçay, to win a WTA title and break into the Top 100.

Even without an official mentor role, being around Ons Jabeur and her team could give Sonmez a big boost. For Jabeur, this is the perfect way to stay involved in tennis. But it also raises the question: why is she absent from the tour herself?

Pregnancy isn’t the only reason Ons Jabeur stepped away from tennis

Ons Jabeur, former world No. 2, has been away from the professional tour for nearly four months. Just a few weeks back, she revealed that she had been struggling physically and mentally over the past two years and that tennis was no longer bringing her the happiness it once did.

“I feel it’s time to take a step back and finally put myself first: to breathe, to heal, and to rediscover the joy of simply living,” Jabeur wrote. She has faced persistent shoulder problems and other health challenges, which made it harder for her to compete at her best. Even during the 2025 season, Jabeur withdrew from several major tournaments, including the US Open and Montreal Open.

Ons Jabeur’s last big appearance was at Wimbledon 2025, where she retired during her first-round match due to breathing difficulties, linked at least in part to her asthma. But Jabeur has emphasized that this is not a permanent retirement.

She will return when her “mind and body tell” her she is ready. In her words, tennis should not “dictate what I do.” She wants to honor her body, her joy, and her well-being rather than force herself through pressure. Prioritizing her well-being would soon open the door to another exciting chapter in her life.

And in mid-November 2025, Ons Jabeur posted another massive update: she is pregnant. She announced the news on Instagram, saying that she is excited to be a mother with her husband and her fitness coach, Karim Kamoun. “Took a little break to reset and recharge. Turns out, we’ve been planning the cutest comeback ever,” she wrote, adding that the tennis court “will have to wait a little longer.”

Ons Jabeur naturally won’t be playing next season due to the birth of their first child, which is scheduled to happen in April 2026.  Tennis will have to wait, but the fans can be sure that there will be news about Jabeur coming back to the court eventually.