Is Jelena Ostapenko the future of women’s tennis? Who is she?
We saw a sign of youth with Zverev’s win over Djokovic in the Rome final, and now the WTA has a 20 year-old in the form of Jelena Ostapenko making it to the biggest stage there is in tennis, a grand slam final, at Roland Garros. So who is Jelena Ostapenko?
With some notable names sitting out the women’s tour, there have been grumblings about a lack of star quality among the WTA, myself included. After winning a record 23rd grand slam in Australia, Serena Williams took a leave of absence when she announced her pregnancy. Maria Sharapova’s comeback started out strong but then kind of fizzled and hit some controversial roadbloacks, Petra Kvitova has only begun her brave return after a knife attack left her forehand wrist and hand in shambles, Victoria Azarenka comes back next month during grass season after maternity leave, and world No. 1 Angelique Kerber has put in a disappointing season all year long, including going out in her first match here. Who is there to take on the mantle?
A young, big-hitting, fearless player from Latvia, Jelena Ostapenko. Her ground strokes have serious spin and speed and she plays with the kind of in-your-face emotion that engages fans. She’s also living up to the hype, making her first grand slam final. And she just turned 20, the day she booked her spot in the final!
“She’s feisty, she’s outgoing and she’s right in your face, but isn’t that the new generation anyway? I’m sure in future matches, it will hurt her, knowing how emotional she is; it always hurts players who wear their hearts on their sleeves,” said Christ Evert to Eurosport, an analyst for ESPN, and a six-time French Open champ herself.
Ostapenko has a monster of a forehand and her daring shots take your breath away. From this French Open alone, her exciting level of play has already garnered her a legion of fans who have watched her take out more seasoned players such as Sam Stosur and Caroline Wozniacki with ease. She’s unseeded and ranked No. 47, but won’t be for much longer, she will leap into the Top 20 soon.
The 20 year-old took out Timea Bacsinszky in the semi-final and the Swiss player marveled about her bold approach afterwards. “She’s hitting as hard as she can down the line from nowhere. I mean, who tries that? It’s like one out of 10. So we’ll see if she does it at 28 years old. She’s a baby, but she’s a beautiful baby.”
This “beautiful baby” has had an incredible breakthrough year, including making it to the semis in Auckland and the quarters in Acapulco, but her game has really flourished during the clay season where she started out by making it to final in Charleston and the semis at Prague.
“Clay is not my best surface,” was her surprise admission, after defeating Caroline Wozniacki in the quarters. “But I really love to play here, because here the clay is a bit different from other clay. It’s pretty fast, and I think it fits my game pretty well.”
At the moment, she doesn’t seem to be intimidated by anyone. She certainly isn’t playing like it. Jelena is hasn’t won a WTA title yet. Wouldn’t it be amazing if the French Open grand slam was her first?