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Jeļena "Aļona" Ostapenko (born 8 June 1997) is a Latvian professional
tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...
player. She has career-high rankings of world No. 5 in singles and No. 4 in doubles by the WTA. Ostapenko has won nine WTA Tour-level singles and eleven doubles titles, including a singles
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
at the 2017 French Open and a doubles major at the 2024 US Open, partnering Lyudmyla Kichenok. She is the first Latvian to win a major in singles or in doubles. Ostapenko has also won 15 singles titles and 15 doubles titles on the
ITF Women's Circuit The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players. History It serves as a developmenta ...
, and the junior singles event at the
2014 Wimbledon Championships The 2014 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 128th edition of the The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon C ...
. She is a member of the Latvia Billie Jean King Cup team.


Personal life

Ostapenko was born in
Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...
to former Ukrainian footballer Jevgēnijs Ostapenko (d. 2020) and Latvian-Russian tennis coach and former player Jeļena Jakovļeva. Jevgēnijs played professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
for Metalurh Zaporizhzhia in the Ukrainian city of
Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...
where Jeļena's grandmother lives. Jeļena has one half-brother, Maksim, who lives in the United States. She was introduced to tennis at age five by her mother and idolized
Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...
while growing up. She also started dancing at that age, going on to compete in the national
ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of European partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and te ...
championships of Latvia. At the age of 12, she chose to focus on tennis, but she credits her good coordination and skilled footwork to the years she danced competitively. Ostapenko speaks Latvian, Russian, and English. Her legal name is Jeļena, but she is known to her family and friends as Aļona. When she was born, her parents' desired name of Aļona was not on the Latvian name calendar, so she was named Jeļena after her mother. Latvian authorities however, have claimed that there were no restrictions in place at that time to register any name, and that there had been some misunderstanding. Fans in Latvia and elsewhere had always called her Aļona, but the name was unknown in the West until her win at Roland Garros in 2017. She uses her legal name professionally in order to avoid administrative confusion.


Career


2014: Wimbledon junior champion, WTA Tour debut & first win

Ostapenko won the singles event at the junior
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...
and was ranked the No. 2 junior tennis player in the world in September 2014. She made her WTA Tour main-draw debut at the Tashkent Open, having been awarded a wildcard and recorded her first win.


2015: Major debut

At the Ladies Neva Cup, Ostapenko went through qualifying and won the biggest title thus far. At Wimbledon, Ostapenko defeated the ninth-seeded Carla Suárez Navarro in straight sets (dropping only two games in the match and grabbing her first win over a top-ten player) in the first round, before losing to
Kristina Mladenovic Kristina "Kiki" Mladenovic (born 14 May 1993) is a French professional tennis player and a former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. Her best singles ranking is world No. 10. She is a nine-time Grand Slam ...
. At the US Open, she lost her second-round match to
Sara Errani Sara Errani (; born 29 April 1987) is an Italian professional tennis player. Errani is one of only seven women who have completed a career Grand Slam (tennis)#Golden Slam, Golden Slam in doubles. She is an Olympic Games gold medalist, a former ...
. In September, she reached her first WTA Tour final at the Canadian Open, where she lost to
Annika Beck Annika Beck (; born 16 February 1994) is a German former professional tennis player. She started playing tennis at the age of four when introduced to the game by her parents. A baseliner whose favorite shot is forehand, and favorite surface is ...
. She ended the season as the world No. 79.


2016: Qatar Open final, Wimbledon mixed SF

She reached the final of the Premier 5 Qatar Ladies Open in Doha, beating world No. 8,
Petra Kvitová Petra Kvitová (; born 8 March 1990) is a Czech professional tennis player. Known for her powerful left-handed groundstrokes and variety, Kvitová has won 31 career singles titles, including two Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, major titles ...
, on the way. She was beaten by Carla Suárez Navarro in the final, nevertheless she rose to No. 41 in the world rankings. At the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, Ostapenko was seeded in the singles at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career, but she dropped her opening match to Naomi Osaka. At the Birmingham Classic, she beat
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova Anastasia Sergeyevna "Nastia" Pavlyuchenkova (; born 3 July 1991) is a Russian professional tennis player. She reached a career-high singles WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 11 on 8 November 2021. Pavlyuchenkova has won twelve singles titles ...
in straight sets in the first round, and two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitová in the second before she was defeated by Madison Keys in the quarterfinals. Ostapenko made the semifinals in mixed doubles at Wimbledon with
Oliver Marach Oliver Marach (born 16 July 1980) is a former Austrian professional tennis player who primarily specialised in doubles. He achieved his highest singles ranking of world No. 82 in August 2005, but achieved most of his success in doubles where he ...
, before they fell to the eventual champions, Heather Watson and
Henri Kontinen Henri Kontinen (; born 19 June 1990) is a Finnish former professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. After being forced to end his singles career at a young age due to injuries, having reached a career-high ranking of No ...
. Ostapenko made her Olympic debut at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics but lost to
Samantha Stosur Samantha Jane Stosur (born 30 March 1984) is an Australian former professional tennis player. She is a former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles, a ranking which she first achieved on 6 February 2006 and ...
in the first round. She ended the season ranked No. 44 in the world.


2017: French Open champion, top 10 debut

At the Australian Open, she advanced to the third round of a major tournament for the first time, losing to Karolína Plíšková in three sets despite serving for the match in the third set. At the Charleston Open, she reached the final losing to fellow 19-year-old Daria Kasatkina. At the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, Ostapenko, then ranked 47th in the world, defeated Louisa Chirico, Monica Puig, Lesia Tsurenko, and Samantha Stosur. She then faced
Caroline Wozniacki Caroline Wozniacki (; born 11 July 1990) is an inactive Danish professional tennis player. She has been ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA, hold ...
in the quarterfinals. Ostapenko came from a set down to defeat her, reaching her first Grand Slam semifinal. She was the first Latvian female player to do so and first teenager in a decade to reach the French Open semifinals (the last was Ana Ivanovic in 2007), opposite
Timea Bacsinszky Timea Bacsinszky (; born 8 June 1989) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. A former top ten singles player, Bacsinszky reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9, on 16 May 2016. She won four singles and five doubles titles o ...
on 8 June, the birthday of both players. She beat Bacsinszky in three sets to reach the final, being the first unseeded female player to play in the final of the French Open since Mima Jaušovec in 1983 and the first Latvian player to reach the final of a major. In the final against third-seeded Simona Halep, Ostapenko came back from being down a set and 3–0 to win her first professional title. She became the first Latvian player to win a Grand Slam singles tournament and the first unseeded woman to win the French Open since 1933. Ostapenko also became the first player since
Gustavo Kuerten Gustavo "Guga" Kuerten (; born 10 September 1976) is a Brazilian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the list of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals f ...
to win his or her first career title at a Grand Slam tournament; coincidentally Kuerten won his first title at the 1997 French Open on the day Ostapenko was born. With the win, she reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 12. At Wimbledon, Ostapenko beat Aliaksandra Sasnovich, Françoise Abanda, Camila Giorgi, and fourth-seeded
Elina Svitolina Elina Mykhailivna Svitolina (, ; born 12 September 1994) is a Ukrainian professional tennis player. She reached career-high rankings of world No. 3 in singles and No. 108 in doubles by the WTA rankings, WTA. Svitolina has won 18 WTA Tour single ...
en-route to her second Grand Slam quarterfinal. She lost to five-time champion Venus Williams. Then, at the US Open, she reached the third round by defeating Lara Arruabarrena and
Sorana Cîrstea Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea (; born 7 April 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. In singles, she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 on 12 August 2013. In doubles, her career-best ranking is No. 35, which she reached on 9 March ...
, before losing to Daria Kasatkina. Her performance was enough for her to make her top-ten debut in the world rankings, at No. 10. At the end of September, she won her second career title at the Korea Open in Seoul. In the Wuhan Open, she beat
Barbora Strýcová Barbora Strýcová (; born 28 March 1986), formerly known as Barbora Záhlavová-Strýcová, is a Czech former professional tennis player who was ranked List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles. She won two Gra ...
and Monica Puig to reach the quarterfinals, where she scored her first win over a reigning WTA number one, Garbiñe Muguruza, extending her winning streak to eight in a row. She lost to
Ashleigh Barty Ashleigh Jacinta Barty (born 24 April 1996) is an Australian former professional tennis player and cricketer. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Assoc ...
in the semifinal. In October, she reached the semifinals of the China Open, losing to Simona Halep. At the WTA Finals, she scored a win over Karolína Plíšková but lost to Muguruza and Venus Williams. She ended the season ranked No. 7 in the world.


2018: World No. 5, Wimbledon semifinal

At Indian Wells, Ostapenko beat Belinda Bencic in the second round before losing to Petra Martić. As a result, she was ranked in the top 5. Playing at the Miami Open, she defeated ninth-seeded Petra Kvitová in the fourth round and fourth seed Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals, 7–6, 7–6. In her semifinal match, Ostapenko defeated qualifier Danielle Collins to reach the final, in which she lost to No. 12 seed Sloane Stephens. Ostapenko entered the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
as the fifth seed, but failed to defend her title, losing in the first round to Kateryna Kozlova. Following the loss, she left the top ten for the first time since entering. At Wimbledon she beat Katy Dunne, Kirsten Flipkens, Vitalia Diatchenko and Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach the quarterfinals for a second successive year, then beat
Dominika Cibulková Dominika Cibulková (; born 6 May 1989) is a Slovak former professional tennis player. She is the 2016 WTA Finals champion, becoming the fourth player (after Serena Williams in 2001 WTA Tour Championships, 2001, Maria Sharapova in 2004 WTA Tour ...
to reach her first Wimbledon semifinal, which she lost to eventual winner Angelique Kerber. A left wrist injury caused her to withdraw from the WTA Elite Trophy, and she ended the season ranked No. 22.


2019: Doubles success

Ostapenko's first tournament of the year was the Shenzhen Open where she lost in the first round to
Monica Niculescu Monica Niculescu (born 25 September 1987) is a Romanian professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked by the Women's Tennis Association, WTA as high as No. 28 in singles and No. 11 in doubles. She has won three singles and 10 dou ...
. She went on to play at the Sydney International, where she lost to Ash Barty in the first round. At the Australian Open, Ostapenko was seeded 22nd and lost to Maria Sakkari, again in the first round. One commentator identified her tendency to hit a relatively high number of double faults, and frequent coaching changes, as contributing to her lack of success in 2019. At the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, she lost to Victoria Azarenka in the first round, but reached the quarterfinals of the doubles event with Lyudmyla Kichenok, falling to
Elise Mertens Elise Mertens (; born 17 November 1995) is a Belgian professional tennis player. She became List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles on 10 May 2021, the third Belgian to hold the top ranking in either singles or ...
and Aryna Sabalenka. Ostapenko also lost in the first round of the
Wimbledon Championships The Wimbledon Championships, commonly called Wimbledon, is a tennis tournament organised by the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in collaboration with the Lawn Tennis Association annually in Wimbledon, London. It is chronologically the ...
to
Hsieh Su-wei Hsieh Su-wei (; ; born 4 January 1986) is a Taiwanese professional tennis player. A former List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in Doubles tennis, doubles with nine Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles, she is rega ...
. Despite the loss, alongside Robert Lindstedt she reached the first mixed-doubles final of her career, though they lost in straight sets to Latisha Chan and Ivan Dodig. During the tournament Ostapenko twice served a ball on the head of her partner Lindstedt. After Wimbledon, Ostapenko's ranking dropped to as low as No. 83 in the world; this was her lowest ranking since February 2016. At Jūrmala, Ostapenko was defeated in the first round by Bernarda Pera, but she reached the final of the doubles alongside Galina Voskoboeva; the pair lost to Sharon Fichman and Nina Stojanović. At
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, Ostapeonko defeated Caroline Garcia and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the third round, before losing to qualifier Marie Bouzková; in doubles, she and partner Lyudmyla Kichenok lost in the first round to Julia Görges and Karolína Plíšková. At
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
, she was defeated in the first round of the singles tournament by Yulia Putintseva, and, partnering with Kichenok once again in the doubles, defeated Raquel Atawo and Han Xinyun in the first round, before falling to
Lucie Hradecká Lucie Hradecká (; born 21 May 1985) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time Grand Slam doubles champion and 26-time WTA Tour doubles titlist, she reached her career-high doubles ranking of world No. 4 in October 2012. She w ...
and Andreja Klepač, the eventual champions. Finally, she had some success at the US Open where she beat Aleksandra Krunić and 2019 Wimbledon quarterfinalist Alison Riske, in straight sets, to reach her first Grand Slam third round of the season where she faced wildcard Kristie Ahn to whom she lost in straight sets. In doubles, she and Kichenok were defeated in the first round by Caroline Dolehide and Vania King. At
Zhengzhou Zhengzhou is the capital of Henan, China. Located in northern Henan, it is one of the nine National central city, national central cities in China, and serves as the political, economic, technological, and educational center of the province. Th ...
, she defeated You Xiaodi in the first round, before falling to Aryna Sabalenka. At
Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...
, she lost to Tímea Babos in the first round, and also lost in the first round of the doubles tournament where, partnering with Kirsten Flipkens, she fell to Hayley Carter and Luisa Stefani. At
Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...
, she retired in the first round against Katarina Zavatska. At
Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, she upset the second seed Plíšková in the first round, before falling to Kateřina Siniaková in the second. However, she went on to reach the biggest women's doubles final of her career at Beijing, partnering with Dayana Yastremska; they lost to Sofia Kenin and Bethanie Mattek-Sands. At
Linz Linz (Pronunciation: , ; ) is the capital of Upper Austria and List of cities and towns in Austria, third-largest city in Austria. Located on the river Danube, the city is in the far north of Austria, south of the border with the Czech Repub ...
, Ostapenko defeated Tamara Korpatsch, Alizé Cornet, and Elena Rybakina en route to reach her first semifinal appearance since 2018 Wimbledon. In the semifinal, she came from a set and a break deficit to defeat Ekaterina Alexandrova in three tight sets. In her first final since 2018 Miami, Ostapenko faced
lucky loser A lucky loser is a sports competitor (player or team) who loses a match in a knockout tournament or loses in qualifying, but who then enters the main draw. This can occur when another competitor withdraws during the tournament because of illness ...
Coco Gauff, losing in three sets. At Linz, Ostapenko announced that she had added fellow Grand Slam champion Marion Bartoli to her coaching team. At
Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...
, Ostapenko defeated Caty McNally in the first round, and then defeated top-seeded Elise Mertens in the second round. She then defeated Antonia Lottner and Anna Blinkova to reach the final, where she defeated defending champion Julia Görges in straight sets, to win her first title since Seoul in 2017. By reaching two consecutive finals, Ostapenko managed to raise her ranking to No. 44, ending the year ranked No. 45 in the world.


2020–2021: First WTA 500 title, Olympic Games

Ostapenko withdrew from the 2020 Auckland Open following the sudden death of her father on January 3 at the age of 43. At the Australian Open, she defeated Liudmila Samsonova in the first round, before falling to Belinda Bencic in the second round. In doubles, she partnered with Gabriela Dabrowski and reached the quarterfinals, and in mixed doubles, she partnered with
Leander Paes Leander Adrian Paes ( ; born 17 June 1973) is an Indian former professional tennis player and the first Asian man to be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He is regarded as one of the greatest doubles tennis players of all-tim ...
and lost in the second round to finalists Mattek-Sands and
Jamie Murray Jamie Robert Murray (born 13 February 1986) is a British professional tennis player who specialises in doubles. He is a seven-time Grand Slam (tennis), major doubles champion (five in mixed doubles and two in men's doubles), a Davis Cup winne ...
. After participating in the 2020–21 Billie Jean King Cup, where she lost to
Serena Williams Serena Jameka Williams (born September 26, 1981) is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WT ...
, but defeated Sofia Kenin before losing in the deciding doubles rubber to Kenin and Mattek-Sands, Ostapenko played at St. Petersburg, where she lost to Alizé Cornet in the first round, while struggling with illness and jet lag. Upon the resumption of the WTA Tour following the COVID-19 pandemic, she withdrew from all North American events. Her first match was at
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, where she lost in the first round in straight sets to Magda Linette. At
Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...
, she reached her first quarterfinal of the year, defeating Lauren Davis and Kiki Bertens, before losing to Nao Hibino in two tiebreak sets. She progressed past the first round of the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
for the first time since 2017, defeating Madison Brengle and Karolína Plíšková, before falling to Paula Badosa. At
Ostrava Ostrava (; ; ) is a city in the north-east of the Czech Republic and the capital of the Moravian-Silesian Region. It has about 283,000 inhabitants. It lies from the border with Poland, at the confluences of four rivers: Oder, Opava (river), Opa ...
, in receipt of a wildcard, she defeated Petra Martić before losing to Ons Jabeur. Due to the freezing of the WTA rankings, she ended the year No. 44 in the world for the second consecutive year. In May 2021, Ostapenko reached the semifinals in doubles at the Madrid Open with Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova defeating en route the top seeded pair and world No. 1 and No. 3, Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens. Next she reached the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 tournament at the Italian Open, her first since 2018, by defeating Angelique Kerber. She had match points against Karolína Plíšková, but lost in a third set tiebreak. At the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, Ostapenko lost in three sets to fourth seed Sofia Kenin in the first round. As a wildcard at the Eastbourne International, Ostapenko won her fourth title, defeating Anett Kontaveit in straight sets in the final. She became only the third wildcard to win the title, following
Monica Seles Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a Serbian–American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
in 1996 and
Julie Halard-Decugis Julie Halard-Decugis (born 10 September 1970) is a French former professional tennis player. Tennis career Halard-Decugis lived in La Baule, France, during the initial stages of her career and later moved to Pully, Switzerland. She turned profe ...
in
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
. At Wimbledon, she reached the third round by defeating 31st seed Daria Kasatkina, but lost to Ajla Tomljanović in three sets. At the
2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...
, Ostapenko was a flagbearer for Latvia alongside basketball player Agnis Čavars and entered the singles and doubles tournaments. She was defeated in the first round of the singles tournament by Elena Vesnina, in three sets. In doubles, Ostapenko partnered with Anastasija Sevastova and lost in the first round to Australia's Sam Stosur and
Ellen Perez Ellen Perez (born 10 October 1995) is an Australian professional tennis player. Her career-high rankings in singles and doubles are world No. 162 and No. 7, achieved in August 2019 and in April 2024, respectively. She has won eight doubles titl ...
. At the start of the US Open Series, Ostapenko competed at the Canadian Open as an unseeded player and lost in straight sets to the also unseeded Kateřina Siniaková. At the Cincinnati Open, also unseeded, she defeated Tamara Zidanšek in the first round and 13th seed Jennifer Brady (by retirement) in the second before losing to Angelique Kerber in the third. In late August, Ostapenko withdrew from the US Open for medical reasons. In September, she reached the final of the Luxembourg Open, losing to Clara Tauson in three sets. She ended the year winning the doubles title alongside Siniaková at the Kremlin Cup in Moscow.


2022: Major semifinals, doubles No. 7

Ostapenko reached the third round at the Australian Open, falling to Barbora Krejčíková after winning the first set. At the Dubai Championships, she defeated four Grand Slam champions — Sofia Kenin, Iga Świątek, Petra Kvitová, and Simona Halep — en route to the final. In the championship match, she defeated Veronika Kudermetova, 6–0, 6–4. This was her fifth title, sixth final at WTA 500 level or above, and third final in the past nine months, after a title run in Eastbourne and a runner-up showing in Luxembourg the previous year. She returned to the top 15 at world No. 13 in the WTA singles rankings. She and Lyudmyla Kichenok reached the final of the same competition in doubles, but Kudermetova and Mertens prevailed. At the Qatar Ladies Open, Ostapenko lost in the semifinals to Anett Kontaveit. She then lost in the first round of her next four tournaments ( Indian Wells,
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
, and
Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
), losing to Shelby Rogers in consecutive matches. In Madrid, she reached the semifinals in doubles alongside Lyudmyla Kichenok, losing to eventual champions Gabriela Dabrowski and
Giuliana Olmos Giuliana Marion Olmos Dick (born 4 March 1993) is an Austrian-born Mexican professional tennis player. Olmos, a graduate of USC, has a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 6, achieved on 10 April 2023. She has won seven doubles titles on the ...
. At the
French Open The French Open (), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a tennis tournament organized by the French Tennis Federation annually at Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. It is chronologically the second of the four Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam ...
, Ostapenko lost in the second round to Alizé Cornet, in three sets. In doubles at the same tournament, she reached the semifinals of a major for the first time, partnering again with Kichenok. At Wimbledon, Ostapenko reached the fourth round in singles losing to Tatjana Maria, after missing two match points. At the same tournament, she entered the doubles semifinals with Kichenok, and the mixed doubles quarterfinals, partnering Robert Farah. At the Cincinnati Open, she defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round, before losing to Madison Keys. In doubles with Kichenok, she reached the final, defeating Australian Open finalists Haddad Maia and Anna Danilina and top seeds Kudermetova and Mertens. The pair won their biggest title defeating Nicole Melichar and Ellen Perez. As a result, Ostapenko made her top 10 debut at No. 9 in the doubles rankings on 22 August 2022, and reached a career-high doubles ranking of No. 7 on 12 September 2022 after a third round showing at the US Open. Ostapenko and Kichenok qualified for the 2022 WTA Finals, where they reached the semifinals. She ended the season ranked No. 18 in singles and No. 14 in doubles.


2023: Australian and US Open quarterfinals

Ostapenko became the first Latvian women's player to reach the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, defeating top-10 player Coco Gauff en route. This was only the fourth Major quarterfinal of her career and the first since the
2018 Wimbledon Championships The 2018 Wimbledon Championships was a Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam tennis tournament which took place at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The main tournament began on Monday, 2 July 2018 and ...
. She lost to eventual finalist Elena Rybakina in straight sets. In May, Ostapenko reached her first Italian Open semifinal, defeating Barbora Krejčíková, Daria Kasatkina, and Paula Badosa en route; this was her first clay semifinal since winning the 2017 French Open. She lost to eventual champion Elena Rybakina, in straight sets. At the Birmingham Classic, Ostapenko lifted the
Maud Watson Maud Edith Eleanor Watson, Order of the British Empire, MBE (9 October 1864 – 5 June 1946) was a British tennis player and the first female Wimbledon Championships, Wimbledon champion. Biography Born in Harrow, London, Harrow, Middlesex, the ...
Trophy, after defeating again top-seeded Barbora Krejčíková in the final. At Wimbledon, she reached the second round losing to
Sorana Cîrstea Sorana Mihaela Cîrstea (; born 7 April 1990) is a Romanian professional tennis player. In singles, she achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 21 on 12 August 2013. In doubles, her career-best ranking is No. 35, which she reached on 9 March ...
in three sets. Seeded 20th at the US Open, Ostapenko upset defending champion Iga Świątek, getting her first win over a world No. 1 since 2017, and making her first quarterfinal at this major. However, she lost to American teenager and eventual champion, Coco Gauff. Then, at the WTA 1000 China Open, she reached the quarterfinals defeating fourth seed Jessica Pegula, her 20th top 10 win.


2024: Doubles: US Open title, world No. 6

She reached the final at
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by defeating Sorana Cirstea, Caroline Garcia, Marta Kostyuk and Ekaterina Alexandrova. As a result, Ostapenko returned to the top 10 in the rankings after five years of absence. She defeated Daria Kasatkina in the final to win her seventh singles title and third WTA 500 overall. At the Australian Open, she reached the third round in singles. At the same tournament, she reached her first major final in doubles with her usual partner Lyudmyla Kichenok, defeating reigning US Open champions and fourth seeds Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe, in straight sets. Ostapenko became the first Latvian finalist at the event. She reached her second WTA 500 final for the season at the Ladies Linz defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. She won her second title of the season and eight overall defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova, her second win over the Russian for the season. It was the first time since 2017 that she won multiple titles in a season. She reached her third singles quarterfinal at Wimbledon with wins over Ajla Tomljanović, qualifier Daria Snigur, Bernarda Pera and Yulia Putintseva before losing to eventual champion
Barbora Krejčíková Barbora Krejčíková (; born 18 December 1995) is a Czech professional tennis player. She has been WTA rankings, ranked as high as world No. 2 in singles and List of WTA number 1 ranked doubles tennis players, world No. 1 in doubles by the Wome ...
. At the same tournament, in doubles, she also reached the quarterfinals with partner Lyudmyla Kichenok. She entered the US Open seeded tenth in singles, but was defeated in the first round by wildcard and previous two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka. In doubles at the same tournament, she reached her second Slam final for the season with her partner Lyudmyla Kichenok, defeating Anna Danilina and Irina Khromacheva in the quarterfinal, and then Veronika Kudermetova and Chan Hao-ching in the semifinal also in straight sets. Ostapenko became only the second Latvian finalist at the event at the US Open. Ostapenko and Kichenok defeated Kristina Mladenovic and
Zhang Shuai Zhang Shuai ( zh , s = 张帅 , p = Zhāng Shuài ; ; born 21 January 1989) is a Chinese professional tennis player. She has a career-high doubles WTA rankings, ranking of world No. 2, achieved in July 2022 and a singles ranking of No. 22 re ...
in the final in straight sets to lift their first a Grand Slam trophy together, becoming the first Latvian and Ukrainian champions in women’s doubles at the US Open. Ostapenko became also the first Latvian to win a Grand Slam title in doubles. As a result she reached a new career-high of world No. 6 in the doubles rankings on 9 September 2024. She and Kichenok also surged to No.1 in the Race to the WTA Finals after the tournament. Ostapenko and Kichenok qualified for the end-of-season WTA Finals in
Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...
, Saudi Arabia, as top seeds but were eliminated in the group stages after losing all three of their matches.


2025: Abu Dhabi and Charleston doubles titles, WTA 1000 Doha singles final

Partnering Hsieh Su-wei, Ostapenko reached the doubles final at the Australian Open, losing to top seeds Kateřina Siniaková and Taylor Townsend in three sets. At the start of the Middle Eastern swing, she lifted the title in
Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...
with first-time partner Ellen Perez. At the Qatar Ladies Open, she reached the quarterfinals, recording her first top 10 win of 2025 and 12th career top 5 win, with an upset over fourth seed Jasmine Paolini. Ostapenko proceeded to defeat three-time champion and world No. 2, Iga Świątek, in the semifinal, but lost the final to Amanda Anisimova in straight sets. Partnering Erin Routliffe, she won the doubles title at the Charleston Open in April, defeating Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk in the final. Also in April, she won the Stuttgart Open in straight sets against first seed Aryna Sabalenka, after defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova in the semifinals and beating Iga Świątek for the sixth time in a row in the quarterfinals.


Playing style

Ostapenko is an aggressive baseliner, with an attacking playing style. In a 2017 article, Steve Tignor of ''Tennis.com'' described Ostapenko's mentality as "See ball, hit winner."
Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...
labeled her style as "risky, aggressive, fun tennis". Her forehand and backhand are both hit flat, with relentless power and depth. In a 2016 interview, ''Crosscourt View'' labeled Ostapenko's backhand her "strongest weapon"; the same year, ''Hartford Courant'' stated that she "hits a lot of forehand winners". Due to her aggressive playing style, she accumulates significant numbers of both winners and unforced errors. She aims to finish points quickly, either with powerful groundstrokes or deft volleys. Ostapenko moves opponents around the court by aiming long strokes at corners and lines, and then changes direction to hit powerful winners. After putting an opponent in a vulnerable position, she regularly seeks to end the point with a cross-court forehand, a down-the-line backhand, a swinging volley, or a drop shot. Before her participation in the 2017 Charleston Open final, an article on the event's website declared that what was "most impressive about Ostapenko is her willingness to strike big to all corners of the court, be it a cross-court laser or a bold down-the-line winner." One of her major weaknesses is a high error rate due to her high-risk approach. At the 2017 French Open, where Ostapenko won her first professional title, she regularly hit between 35 and 45 winners throughout her matches. Following her quarterfinal performance, she attracted multiple comparisons to
Monica Seles Monica Seles (born December 2, 1973) is a Serbian–American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the List of WTA number 1 ranked singles tennis players, world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for ...
. Ostapenko said in an interview at the event that "aggressive is my style of game". After the final match of that French Open, analysts highlighted the differences between her performance and opponent Simona Halep's performance: Ostapenko had 54 winners and 54 unforced errors, while Halep had eight winners and ten unforced errors.
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
's Simon Cambers wrote: "Fear just does not seem to come into stapenko'svocabulary... Her groundstrokes are simply massive, flat swipes of the ball that left Halep... grasping at shadows." The major weakness in Ostapenko's game is her serve, which is highly inconsistent. Her first serve is powerful, being typically recorded at 106 mph (170 km/h), and peaking at 112 mph (180 km/h), allowing her to serve aces, while her second serve is inconsistent. Her second serve is hampered by nerves, and a frequently wayward ball toss, meaning that she double faults frequently. In 2017 and 2019, she was the WTA Tour leader in double faults, hitting 436 double faults in 2019. She also frequently has one of the lowest first serve percentages on the entire tour; in her first-round match at the 2019 China Open against Karolína Plíšková, she served 25 double faults, and had a first-serve percentage of 49%, while still winning the match. However, after being coached by Marion Bartoli at Linz for the first time, her serve began to show some improvement, and in the final against Julia Görges at Luxembourg, she did not double fault once. Ostapenko is the only player to reliably beat Iga Świątek, having as of April 2025 a record of six wins and no losses.


Equipment

Ostapenko uses Wilson Blade racquets, but is currently without an apparel sponsor, having previously been sponsored by
Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...
for clothing and shoes; and Nike prior to that. At the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon 2022 she wore DK ONE, a Latvian brand.


Coaches

Ostapenko is coached by her mother. In 2017, she also trained with two-time French Open doubles champion
Anabel Medina Garrigues Ana Isabel Medina Garrigues (, ; born 31 July 1982) is a Spanish tennis coach and former professional player. As a player she reached a career-high ranking of world No. 16 in 2009, and won 11 singles and 28 doubles titles, including the 2008 ...
. She parted company with Medina Garrigues at the end of 2017, taking on David Taylor – former coach of Sam Stosur and Ana Ivanovic – to coach her for the majors, with her mother remaining as her full-time coach. In October 2019, Ostapenko partnered with 2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli on a trial basis; their partnership resulted in Ostapenko reaching two finals in two weeks, and winning the title in Luxembourg. Bartoli announced that their partnership would continue into 2020, and that she would be Ostapenko's full time coach throughout the year. After a poor start to the 2020 season, and Bartoli's pregnancy, Ostapenko ended their partnership during the suspension of the WTA Tour due to the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
, and began to be coached on a trial basis by Thomas Högstedt, the former coach of
Maria Sharapova Maria Yuryevna Sharapova (, ; born 19 April 1987) is a Russian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 21 weeks. Sharapova won 36 WTA Tour-level sin ...
and Simona Halep. This partnership was not extended into 2021, and Bartoli began coaching Ostapenko once again in February 2021, following the birth of her daughter, at
Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...
. Ostapenko subsequently started working with Ukrainian coach Stas Khmarsky.


Rivalries


Ekaterina Alexandrova

Ostapenko and Ekaterina Alexandrova have met eleven times since 2015, with Ostapenko leading the head-to-head 6–5.


Karolína Plíšková

Ostapenko and Karolína Plíšková have met eleven times since 2016, with Ostapenko controlling the head-to-head at 6–5.


Iga Świątek

Ostapenko and Iga Świątek have met six times since 2019. Ostapenko has won every match, making her the only active player to have an undefeated record against Świątek across multiple matches. Their encounters span all surfaces, with Ostapenko claiming key wins at the 2023 US Open and the 2025 Stuttgart Open. Her aggressive, high-risk style has consistently unsettled Świątek.


Career statistics


Grand Slam performance timeline


Singles


Doubles


Grand Slam tournament finals


Singles: 1 (title)


Doubles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)


Mixed doubles: 1 (runner-up)


Records

Between 2016 and 2019, Ostapenko was the only player to have won a Grand Slam title (2017 French Open), but lost in the first round the three other times she had competed at the same tournament (2016 to Naomi Osaka, 2018 to Kateryna Baindl, and 2019 to Victoria Azarenka). This run ended in 2020, as she advanced to the second round, after beating Madison Brengle.


Awards


Notes


References


External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ostapenko, Jelena 1997 births Living people Tennis players from Riga Latvian female tennis players French Open champions US Open (tennis) champions Wimbledon junior champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's singles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in women's doubles Grand Slam (tennis) champions in girls' singles Tennis players at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics Tennis players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2020 Summer Olympics Tennis players at the 2024 Summer Olympics Olympic tennis players for Latvia Latvian people of Ukrainian descent Latvian people of Russian descent