Tearful Jabeur overcomes breathing problems to win

Jabeur has reached the final at Wimbledon and the US Open but is yet to win a Grand Slam title

Former world number two Ons Jabeur was in tears on court as she struggled with breathing difficulties during her second-round Australian Open victory.

The Tunisian later said she had an asthma flare-up but recovered to beat Colombian Camila Osorio 7-5 6-3 at Melbourne Park.

Jabeur, a three-time Grand Slam finalist, appeared to be coughing and tapping her chest before leaving the court for medical attention after just three games.

"Very, very tough to breathe. When I was younger, I was diagnosed with asthma," she said.

"I tried to use the inhaler, and it didn't really help. So I was with the doctor, and let's see. We're going to do some more tests and see what's going on.

"I had to not play long rallies. Not the best opponent when you are in this condition, but I apologised at the end of the match, because I really don't want to behave like this on the court."

She added that it would've been "very difficult to continue" if she had lost the opening set.

Jabeur, 30, has dropped down to 39th in the world rankings after injury problems last year prevented her from competing at the US Open and Paris Olympics.

She ended her 2024 season in September, returning to action at the beginning of this year and suggested the long spell away had caused her asthma problems to resurface.

"Having taken off a lot [of time] didn't help. I think it provoked it even more," she said.

"I think I will have to find a way to feel better the next two days, which I am hoping to do because this started kind of two days or three days ago. I feel like it got worse for some reason."

Jabeur will face American eighth seed Emma Navarro, who beat China's Wang Xiyu 6-3 3-6 6-4, in the next round.

"I'm really just taking it one minute at a time and see how it's going to go, but definitely I'm doing everything that I can to be ready," said Jabeur.

"I don't want to be greedy just after coming back from an injury. Sometimes I get angry because I feel like I'm getting back there, but every time something happens."

Meanwhile, 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina beat 17-year-old American wildcard Iva Jovic 6-0 6-3 to seal her 50th Grand Slam match win.

Jovic was the youngest woman in the second round of the draw but struggled against 2023 Australian Open finalist Rybakina, who is ranked 184 places above Jovic.

The Kazakh will face Ukrainian 32nd seed Dayana Yastremska, who reached the semi-finals last year as a qualifier, in the third round.