Can Ons Jabeur ever recapture the form that saw her finish runner-up in three Grand Slams? The Tunisian has suffered badly with injuries of late, calling a premature end to her 2024 season due to a shoulder issue.
2025 WTA Tour
WTA 1000
Italian Open
Foro Italico, Rome, Italy (Outdoor Clay)
Selected Round of 64 Matches- 9th May
Ons Jabeur (27) 0.53 vs Petra Kvitova 1.46
She has struggled with injury again this season, battling a thigh issue in Dubai while pulling out o the recent Miami Open due to a calf strain. Jabeur produced some encouraging tennis in the opening salvos of the season, reaching the quarterfinals in three of her first five tournaments (including the WTA 1000 event in Qatar). But she has struggled since that first-round defeat to Stearns in Dubai, going 1-4 in her last four events. On her day, Jabeur is one of the most dangerous clay-court players in the world, using her variety (drop-shots, slices, etc) to disrupt the tempo of her opponents. A five-time clay-court finalist, Jabeur will bank on some positive muscle-memory this fortnight: she finished runner-up here back in 2022.
Two-time Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova won her first match since returning from maternity leave, easing past Irina Camelia-Begu 7-5, 6-1. She was candid in the post-match press conference, saying that she was surprised that the win came here (she hasn’t won back-to-back matches in Rome since reaching the quarterfinals in 2015). The victory ended a string of four successive defeats for the Czech since returning to action. She has stated that she flirted with retirement after spending 15 months away from the game (I still wouldn’t be surprised if she retires fairly soon). Kvitova- a winner of 31 WTA titles- tends to play her best tennis on fast surfaces, using her accurate, powerful lefty serve to peg opponents back. But she has made a decent fist of it on clay, winning five titles and reaching two Roland Garros semifinals. But her best clay-court success has tended to come on speedier clay-court surfaces (she is a former three-time Madrid champ and a former Stuttgart champ).
The Verdict: Jabeur to win in three at 3.2- Kvitova leads the head-to-head 4-2. However, Jabeur thrashed the Czech when they last met at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. Furthermore, this will be their maiden clay-court meeting. This could be close, with Jabeur still working up to prime physicality. She has had her issues with Kvitova’s serve in the past and the Czech will look to keep her moving. However, I think that Jabeur’s greater variety will prove decisive, especially as they get deeper into the clash.
