"I have a lot of respect for Naomi Osaka for coming after having a baby" - Ons Jabeur hails Japanese ahead of Canadian Open clash

Ons Jabeur praised Naomi Osaka ahead of their first-round clash at the 2024 Canadian Open. She expressed her admiration for Osaka making a comeback to the tennis court after giving birth to her daughter, Shai.

Osaka and her partner Cordae welcomed their first child, Shai, in July 2023. She had missed the entirety of the last season due to her pregnancy and had last competed before her hiatus at the 2022 Toray Pan Pacific Open.

After giving birth to Shai, Osaka returned to the court after six months, making her comeback at the 2024 Brisbane International. Her best results of the season so far have been at the Qatar Open and the Libema Open, where she reached the quarterfinals. Osaka will next kick off her campaign at the 2024 Canadian Open, where she received a wild card to the main draw. She will face the ninth seed Ons Jabeur in the first round.

During a recent appearance on the Official Tennis Canada podcast, 'Match Point Canada,' Jabeur talked about her upcoming match against the former World No. 1. She stated that she has great "respect" for the Japanese player and was in awe of her for making a comeback after giving birth, something that Jabeur herself aspires to do in the future.

“I’m playing Naomi [Osaka] and I have a lot of respect for her and coming after having a baby. It is also something that I want to do myself as well. So yeah pretty excited about this match looking forward to playing in a hopefully full stadium and we’ll see how this goes,” Jabeur said (5:08).

Jabeur recalled her sole encounter with Naomi Osaka on the tour, in the third round of the 2021 Australian Open where the Japanese had emerged victorious and then went on to win the tournament. The Tunisian mentioned that she has since gained more experience and is looking forward to facing Osaka.

The World No. 16 also expressed her determination to give her best and secure the win against Osaka in the first round of the Canadian Open.

“I think she was playing really good at the time. It was a tough match for both of us. I obviously have more experience right now. She had her baby when I was playing good so that’s why we didn’t meet a lot. But yeah it’s gonna be a different match for both of us. We are both different players but looking forward to playing it. It is going to be I think great for both of us. It’s going to be a huge match I feel like. I want to just have fun and play my shots and I hope I can get the win this time,” she added (6:04).

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Ons Jabeur & Naomi Osaka's best result at the Canadian Open was reaching the quarterfinals

Naomi Osaka (L) & Ons Jabeur (R) [Image Source: Getty]

Ons Jabeur and Naomi Osaka's best performance at the Canadian Open was reaching the quarterfinals. Osaka achieved this feat in 2019 while Jabeur replicated the same in 2021.

In 2019, Osaka was seeded second and commenced her campaign in the second round following a first-round bye. She progressed to the third round after her opening-round opponent, qualifier Tatjana Maria, withdrew from their match in the second set. The former World No.1 overcame qualifier Iga Swiatek 7-6(4), 6-4 in the third round but fell to eventual runner-up Serena Williams 3-6, 4-6 in the quarterfinals.

Ons Jabeur, on the other hand, was seeded 13th at the 2021 Canadian Open and she began her campaign by defeating qualifier Clara Burel 6-1, 6-3 and Daria Kasatkina 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the first and second rounds respectively.

The Tunisian then triumphed over second seed Bianca Andreescu in the third round with a score of 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1 but then fell to Jessica Pegula 6-1, 6-7(4), 0-6 in the last eight.