The future of women’s tennis is now: French Open winner Jelena Ostapenko

Jelena Ostapenko, who won the French Open Saturday, is the future of women’s tennis. 

Tennis fans have been complaining about the crisis of women’s tennis and wondering where the stars are. On Saturday at Roland Garros, the grumbling stopped as we were treated to a thrilling match that went back-and-forth between the upstart Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and the seasoned player, Simona Halep. The match ended with a come-from-behind victory for Ostapenko, who defeated Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

The French Open title was also the Latvian’s first WTA title. Let that sink in. The last player to do that at the French was Gustavo Kuerten, who reigned at Roland Garros before Nadal usurped his throne.

She’s also the first unseeded woman to win the title in the Open Era. Not a bad way to establish yourself on the big stage.

Ostapenko was fearless, going for broke 3-0 down in the second set. The last time we saw that kind of brave play was watching Roger Federer win five games in a row after being down in the fifth 3-1 at the Australian Open against Nadal. Ostapenko dug deep and found the vulnerabilities in Halep’s game to break her back and then forge ahead.

Ostapenko was precise: she hit 54 winners that struck the lines and the corners both when it counted and with wheezing speed. She aced her way out of trouble spots in the match. She found the courage to fight her way out when she was down.

The 20-year-old may have been unseeded going into the tournament, but her ranking will fly up afterwards from No. 47 to just outside the top 10 at No. 12. My guess is that the power-hitter will break through the top 10 in a matter of just weeks and she’ll be looking at the top five soon enough. We’re going into grass season, where she’ll be on even more solid ground. Clay isn’t even her strongest surface! The road to Wimbledon will be fascinating.

Ostatapenko is the first Latvian to win a Grand Slam and not only did the president from her country call her after her semifinal win, but many of her peers were overflowing with praise for the new star in tennis.

Billy Jean King said a new star is born.

https://twitter.com/BillieJeanKing/status/873566846213083137

Christ Evert called the match compelling and talked about the exciting times this heralds.

Boris Becker called Ostapenko the new princess of Roland Garros.

https://twitter.com/TheBorisBecker/status/873561371425812480

The moment of victory captured by Tennis Channel:

https://twitter.com/TennisChannel/status/873560139931844609

Former world No. 2 and coach to Stan Wawrinka, Magnus Norma, called her fearless.

https://twitter.com/normansweden/status/873562060269006849

Even with the gorgeous 54 winners, the Latvian produced 54 unforced errors, but what spectators responded to was her belief. She kept the faith and still tried for the winners against all odds, and when she was down and ought to be losing hope.

“I was just trying to stay aggressive,” Ostapenko told NBC afterward. “I knew if I’m going to stay aggressive, in a couple of games I’ll feel my game and start to play better.”

So much of her grinding, power and fast style reminds me of Monica Seles at her best. Like the Yoguslav former No. 1, we’ll be seeing a lot from Ostapenko going forward.

The French Open may have been her first WTA title, but I doubt it will be her last.