Doubles disappointment for Jabeur, Osaka

Ons Jabeur and Naomi Osaka suffered elimination from the doubles competition at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open, as they were beaten in straight sets by Magda Linette and Bernarda Pera.

The first-time pairing had the backing of the majority inside Stadium Court at the International Tennis Centre at Zayed Sports City as they faced a duo who stepped in at the last minute to replace Xinyu Wang and Saisai Zheng, who were forced to withdraw after the latter picked up a wrist injury.

While the quality of World Number. 6 Jabeur and four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka was evident in spells, their opponents performed well as a partnership throughout the match and booked their place in the quarter-finals courtesy of a 6-3, 6-3 victory.

It rounded off a frustrating day for Osaka, the former World Number. 1, who suffered a straight-sets defeat at the hands of America’s Danielle Collins in the singles competition.

Jabeur plays her first singles match on Thursday when she takes on Emma Raducanu in the last 16 having been awarded a bye, as one of the four top seeds, in the opening round.