Fighting for calls, calling out the referee, winning in the Double’s tournament in Brisbane, and now cracking into the Top 10 of the WTA Women’s Singles ranking, Jelena Ostapenko has had a funky start to the 2024 season.
Ostapenko is currently participating in the Adelaide Open where she defeated Caroline Garcia in three sets winning 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. The Latvian star showed no signs of backing down even after suffering from an injury during the match. She eventually clutched the match in the final set.
The second-round win not only put her into the final 8 of the tournament but also placed her among the Top 10 Women’s singles players.
Jelena has been in the news quite a bit in the new season which includes controversy with the chair umpire at the Brisbane International last week, calling out umpires on even the clear-cut decisions, making bold fashion statements, and rolling back to her former self. She also claimed the Brisbane International Doubles title with her Ukrainian partner, Lyudmyla Kichenok.
Ostapenko returning to her best form should alarm even the very best as she is known for her unorthodox style and can easily make a huge upset in the Australian Open.
Tennis fans celebrated the redemption of the Latvian Star. One of them drew comparisons between her and another star Dimitrov’s early run to start the year. He tweeted:
“Ostapenko, a bit like Dimitrov, is in her best phase of her career since 2017. Will be Top 10 on Monday. Both never fell off the map & always hung around the top 30, but now they understand their game better than ever. There’s a certain reliability week in/week out from them now.”
One fan brought up a crazy trivia that reveals that the last time Ostapenko ranked among the ten best, many current superstars had not even made it to any Grand Slam Quarter-finals. The list included the likes of World No. 1 Iga Swiatek, US Open Winner Coco Gauff, Elena Rybakina, Ons Jabeur, defending Australian Open Champion Aryna Sabalenka, and many more.
While others weren’t impressed with the Latvian’s on-court shenanigans with the referees and her attitude during the matches, some fans even demanded she be penalized or suspended for her actions.
“Should’ve given her a game penalty like when Serena said a similar thing in that US Open final”, a fan wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).
Jelena Ostapenko is not happy with the umpire in her match against Azarenka:
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 5, 2024
“I never want you at my match again. You will never be at my match. You ruin my matches.” pic.twitter.com/7ns1h6rR7F
Jelena will have to bring her own umpire next time if she wants this called double bounce
— Esklav Dèchan (@Jdub53452759) January 5, 2024
Not the first time Ostapenko has made an xss of herself. She constantly scowls throughout matches and complains on nearly every call made against her. This is not the first time she’s abused an ump. She needs to be sanctioned big time.
— Amedeo (@TheAmedeo621) January 5, 2024
Style Icon Jelena Ostapenko unveils new kit of 2024
Jelena Ostapenko, famously known for her unorthodox style of play is also quite popular for debuting uniquely styled tennis kits on the court.
In her first tournament of 2024, at the Brisbane International, she came out in a white and light purple kit. Following it up with other combinations of purple such as the white and green illustrated in the picture below.
She played the quarter-finals in a vibrant lavender outfit with white horizontal strips.
In her Adelaide Open first-round match against Sorona, she wore a similar outfit to the one she doubted the season in i.e. A colorful mix of lavender and blue.
