"I couldn't look at the videos anymore, it was too much" - Ons Jabeur extends her sympathies to Palestinians in Gaza affected by Israel war

Ons Jabeur recently admitted that the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and its documentation on social media has affected her mental well-being to a large extent.

Jabeur, who won the Madrid Open in 2022, has been in good form at the Caja Magica this year. Having received a first-round bye, the 29-year-old overcame a set deficit against Leylah Fernandez and Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in her first two matches before booking her place in the last eight by beating ninth-seeded Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets on Monday (April 29).

Before her quarterfinal clash against Madison Keys in Madrid, Ons Jabeur sat down for a tell-all interview with The Guardian. During the interaction, she took on the topic surrounding the recent tragic events in Israel and Gaza. The World No. 9 admittedly couldn't stomach the living conditions that the Palestinian natives have weathered over the last year.

Jabeur then revealed that she had deleted social media for a while as the videos circulating on the platform upset her greatly.

"I really feel bad about what’s happening in Gaza for the Palestinian people not even having food and definitely the hospitals as well are not well equipped for injuries," Ons Jabeur told The Guardian. "I deleted social media at some time because I couldn’t look at the videos any more. It was too much and it was affecting me."

Furthermore, Jabeur also expressed hope for the WTA to speak more on the Middle Eastern conflict while disclosing that some of her peers have offered her kind words since then.

“No, Palestine, it wasn’t discussed a lot, obviously," the Tunisian said in response to whether the WTA had spoken about Israel-Hamas war after their initial statement. "But I’ve seen some players coming up to me, giving me their support and wanted to know what’s really happening in the world."

"Everybody knows and, again, everybody is wishing [for] peace. I wish they can speak about it more, but, you know, politics is politics and obviously so many people are scared to get involved."

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Ons Jabeur on winning Wimbledon: "Hopefully I can get that title because I really, really want it"

Ons Jabeur also fielded questions about her Wimbledon heartbreak. The Tunisian inferred that she and her husband Karim Kamoun were planning on having a baby, but her championship-match defeat to Marketa Vondrousova put a spoke in that plan's wheel.

The 29-year-old also lost in the title clash of 2022 Wimbledon to Elena Rybakina. Despite her rough patch in finals at SW19, Jabeur was hopeful of not only winning the title in the future but also bringing her child to the WTA Tour before her retirement.

"I think it was meant to be. Maybe I’m not ready to be a mum yet. Hopefully I can get that title because I really, really want it," Ons Jabeur said. "Obviously now coming from a couple of very difficult months, I will try to get there and hopefully one day I can be a mum and bring my kid to the tour."