SUMMARY
- Jelena Ostapenko has been known to have a short temper on the court.
- Jelena Ostapenko has revealed her troubled relationship with her mother.
Jelena Ostapenko is one of the seven grand slam champions left at the 2024 Australian Open. She is in the third round in singles and doubles. Ostapenko is known for her aggression on the court. Her groundstrokes are fierce, just like her attitude on the court. The Latvian does not hold back her emotions against anyone while she is playing a match.
Ostapenko has had a history of outbursts on the WTA tour. It has resulted in her having a complicated relationship with fellow players. Ostapenko has been trying to tone herself down over the years but is still one of the most emotional players in the sport. There have been specific incidents in the past that have gone against the spirit of sportsmanship.
Jelena Ostapenko loses temper in Rome against Elena Rybakina
Ostapenko and Elena Rybakina have played five matches on the tour so far. Their first four matches have ended in straight sets. During their semifinal match in Rome last year, the pair were involved in a tense battle of words exchanged against each other. Rybakina won the match, and there was a cold handshake at the net after the match ended.
The 24-year-old was seen pointing at the umpire towards Ostapenko at the net. Rybakina’s coach was left fuming as Ostapenko was seen using abusive language towards her opponent. Ostapenko had reportedly called Rybakina” a fu*king bit*h” in Russian. She was seen uttering the words while looking at Rybakina when the match was interrupted by rain.
Interesting handshake between Elena Rybakina & Jelena Ostapenko in Rome
It looks like Elena told the umpire to tell Jelena something.
I’d love to know what this is all about 🌶 pic.twitter.com/orr5tnH3kD
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) May 19, 2023
Rybakina now has three consecutive wins against Ostapenko. After the Rome incident, the pair played in the third round at Cincinnati, where Ostapenko suffered a three-set defeat.
The mid-match argument between Jelena Ostapenko and her mother
Ostapenko was introduced to tennis at the age of five by her mother. Jelena Jakovleva has been beside her daughter since the start of her career. Jakovleva was the main coach for Ostapenko, but the pair could not get along on the court. It was evident during the third-round match at Shenzhen against Kristyna Pliskova in 2018. The incident occurred in court as Ostapenko was seen arguing with her mother.
Jakovleva was talking about her form in the match and pointed out her mistakes. Ostapenko said that she was helpless. While talking about her unforced errors and serves, Ostapenko became frustrated. Her mother even told her to get a hold of herself. In the end, Jakovleva was seen storming towards the exit of the court as Ostapenko kept staring at her.
Ostapenko has since changed her coach. Stanislav Khmarsky is currently coaching her. Ostapenko, during her 2017 French Open victory, spoke about the struggles of having her mother as the coach. She said it was hard being with each other every time off and on the court.
Yulia Putintseva’s victory celebration puts off Ostapenko
Ostapenko was going through a rough patch at the end of the 2016 season. She ended the season with six consecutive losses. During the first round of the China Open, Ostapenko was up against Yulia Putintseva as the pair was involved in an exciting clash. Putintseva did not hesitate to celebrate with loud roars during the match. She continued with the same tone after winning the game.
Putintseva gave out a scream after winning the match as Ostapenko stood at the net, staring at her. The 2017 French Open winner did not bother to look at her opponent during the handshake, and she did the same with the chair umpire. Ostapenko was not happy with how Putintseva expressed her emotions in the match. The Russian was carried away from the win and did not react after Ostapenko’s handshake.
It was the pair’s first meeting on the tour. They have played against each other three more times since the match at the China Open. Ostapenko and Putintseva share two wins each in their four meetings so far.
Jelena shows her anger at the ballboy in Auckland
The 2016 season started in the worst way possible for Ostapenko. She won her first match in the ASB Classic against Johanna Larsson in straight sets. In the second round, she faced qualifier Naomi Broady as the crowd witnessed a scary interruption during the game. Ostapenko was losing her control in the match, but Broady was rallying to level the score in the second set tiebreak.
Broady’s groundstrokes were pushing Ostapenko to defend herself. In the fifth point of the tiebreak, the British played a well-constructed point consisting of slices and powerful shots. A punishing forehand led Ostapenko to fail to chase the ball and even throw her racket away in the last shot. The racket flew and almost hit a ballboy.
Broady went to the chair umpire and asked to default the match against Ostapenko. The umpire refused as the WTA supervisor came down to the court and confirmed it as an accident. Ostapenko apologized to the umpire, as Broady was in tears while talking with the supervisor. She was seen showing her anger at Ostapenko after a poor handshake at the net.
Jelena Ostapenko and Ajla Tomljanovic go head-to-head at Wimbledon
The 2021 Wimbledon championships saw heated exchanges in the third-round match between Ostapenko and Ajla Tomljanovic. Ostapenko was on a seven-match winning streak on grass; she had won the title at Eastbourne before playing at Wimbledon. Tomljanovic lost in the qualifying stages at Eastbourne but was looking in good shape ahead of the third-round clash.
The first two sets saw both players dominating each other to level the scores. In the third set, Tomljanovic continued her good form and was 4-0 before Ostapenko requested a medical timeout. The Australian felt that the timeout was unnecessary and was her opponent’s plan to throw off her game. Tomljanovic confronted Ostapenko at the net.
🎾Wimbledon Drama🎾
Ajla Tomljanovic accuses Jelena Ostapenko of faking an injury and they get into it. Ajla with shades of Johnnie-Mac. Some of those John McEnroe tantrums back in the day were drama gold. Ajla v. Jelena, Sound Up.🔊🔊🔊 pic.twitter.com/h2E7pPXgVp— Don Lewis (@DonLew87) July 3, 2021
The former world No. 5 told Tomljanovic to check with the physio if she was faking it. Tomljanovic said she hoped Ostapenko would get well soon. It angered Ostapenko, as she said Tomljanovic was a terrible person on the tour and received a reply saying she was the one to talk. Tomljanovic went on to win the match and reach the quarterfinals for the first time in a grand slam.