WATCH: Tense scenes as Ons Jabeur lashes out at crowd for constant heckles against Jelena Ostapenko at Qatar Open

Ons Jabeur expressed frustration with the crowd due to the constant heckles during her quarterfinal clash against Jelena Ostapenko at the 2025 Qatar Open. Interestingly, the Tunisian was the crowd-favorite in Doha, however, the heckles, which were against Ostapenko, were interrupting the flow of both players.

Jabeur and Ostapenko entered the first WTA 1000 event of the year in the hope of finding their form back. Fortunately for them, both women exhibited some of their best tennis during the week to set up a quarterfinal clash against each other. While the Tunisian ousted McCartney Kessler, Zheng Qinwen and Sofia Kenin, the Latvian eliminated Aoi Ito, Liudmila Samsonova and Jasmine Polini.

In their highly-anticipated quarterfinal, Jelena Ostapenko decimated Ons Jabeur 6-2, 6-2 to reach the final 4. During the match, the crowd constantly heckled Ostapenko to break her rhythm. However, it was Jabeur who lashed out at the crowd for stopping the play with their incessant heckles during the opening of the second set.

Here's a video of the incident below:

Unfortunately, the heckles persisted, leaving a wry smile on Ostapenko's face.

After defeating Ons Jaebur, Jelena Ostapenko delivered a sharp message to the hecklers following her quarterfinal win.

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"It's amazing what Ons Jabeur has done for tennis but you guys made me angry" - Jelena Ostapenko

Jelena Ostapenko celebrates after defeating Ons Jabeur - Source: Getty

During her on-court interview, Jelena Ostapenko addressed the hecklers rooting against her, following her win over Ons Jabeur.

"Thank you guys, for not cheering for me because it made me even more motivated. But I know there’s some people were cheering for me, thank you, guys. Yeah, you know, I feel like when you're playing at the stadium when everyone is cheering for your opponent."

The 27-year-old explicitly expressed her admiration for what Jabeur had done for tennis being a role model for women in the Middle East but said the crowd riled her up.

"Obviously, it’s great that Ons is playing like a woman in Middle East and she’s representing and playing it's amazing what she has done for tennis but you guys made me angry and more motivated so I was playing even better. This is normal, I am just really happy to be through and hope you guys enjoyed the match, thank you, guys!"

Next up, Jelena Ostapenko will face three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek in the semifinals. Though the Pole has dominated almost every player on the tour, Ostapenko holds an astounding 4-0 lead over her.