Ons Jabeur won a place in the WTA ranking published this Monday, going from 36th to 35th world position. A modest arithmetic progression which masks a more worrying reality: the player struggles to find the level which had propelled her in the top 10 less than two years ago.
Despite this digital progress, the dynamics remain fragile. His premature elimination in the third round of the Rome tournament, stammered dryly (4-6, 3-6) by the Italian Jasmine Paolini-which later became the tournament champion-confirmed Jabeur’s difficulties in chaining convincing performances on major meetings.
Since the start of the 2025 season, Jabeur has struggled to find the pace that had made her a serious contender for major titles. Repeated injuries, combined with a lack of consistency on the circuit, seem to slow down its revival. In Rome, although having displayed her usual talent by sequence, she could not raise her level in key moments.
The Tunisian, the first Arab player to have reached a final of Grand Slam (Wimbledon 2022 and 2023, US Open 2022), now seems to be locked in a transitional area: too strong for the first laps, but not enough to win against the players of the Top 20.
The top of the world ranking continues to move. Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka keeps the lead in the ranking, while the American Coco Gauff, a finalist in Rome, climbs in second place. Jessica Pegula completes the podium. Jasmine Paolini, in full Ascension, reached 4th position after her brilliant victory in the Italian capital, relegating Iga Swiatek in fifth place.
In this hypercompressive context, the Jabeur’s challenge is twofold: regaining confidence and raising its level of play as Roland-Garros approaches, where it had been forced to abandon the past year. A good course in Paris could relaunch its season, but time is running out.
