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Zheng Qinwen's rough start to 2025 continues after the world No. 8 exited the WTA 1000 tournament in her opening match.
After a first-round bye, the No. 7 seed met Ons Jabeur on Tuesday in the second round.
And it didn't go well for the Chinese, who was ousted by the 35th-ranked Tunisian 4-6 2-6.
For Zheng, this was her first tournament since she was upset by Laura Siegemund in the Australian Open second round.
Early in the match, the 2024 Australian Open runner-up was twice up by a break.
But after an early 3-1 lead, the Chinese collapsed as Jabeur claimed breaks in the sixth and 10th games to overturn the deficit and take the opener.
After losing the first set, Zheng also found herself 1-5 down in the second set.
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While she managed to get one break back in the seventh game and stay alive, she didn't manage to even come close to making a comeback as the Tunisian earned her third break of the set in the eighth game to complete her win.
Jabeur's win over Zheng is her first top-10 win since she beat Jelena Ostapenko
Going into the match, the former world No. 2 - who ended her 2024 season after the US Open due to injury - had been without a top-10 win since May.
Following her win over the Chinese world No. 8, the 30-year-old was asked to reflect on her first top-10 win in a while.
"A lot of believing in myself and preparing for this match definitely helped. I tried to stay as focused as I can. Its very tough to play against her. Shes a champion. I hope I can continue playing even better in the future," Jabeur said.
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In the Doha round-of-16, Jabeur plays against Sofia Kenin.
