It has been over six years since Jelena Ostapenko burst onto the main stage of tennis by winning the biggest title of her career.
At the age of 20 and unseeded at the 2017 French Open, she stunned the field by claiming the trophy after beating Simona Halep in the final. Since then, Ostapenko has won an additional five WTA titles but it is still yet to feature in another Grand Slam final. In recent years she has experienced a roller-coaster journey on the Tour but has shown signs of returning to her best in 2023, reaching the quarter-finals of both the Australian Open and US Open.
She is now ranked 13th in the world and has set out some big goals for the new season with her sights set on winning another Grand Slam title. It will be a tough challenge but it is one she believes she can do.
“It was a pretty good season overall. Tournaments have been won, I finished the year in the Top 15. I think that step by step we (me and my team) need to return to the Top 10. We should try to win another Grand Slam,” Ostapenko told lsm.lv.
Whilst the results haven’t been there at times, Ostapenko can’t be criticised for not having confidence in her game. Her best result this year on the WTA Tour was on grass when she won the Birmingham Open. She also reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open.
“It is a pleasure that I was in the quarter-finals of two Grand Slams. It’s a good achievement, but for me, the achievement is just winning because I am a leader and I like to win. I don’t like to lose in the semi-finals and quarter-finals.” She stated.
Ostapenko has proven to be a nightmare opponent for one particular player. World No.1 Iga Swiatek is yet to beat her after losing all four of their Tour-level meetings, including their clash in the fourth round of the US Open this year. In their last two matches, she has triumphed after dropping the first set against the Pole.
So what is it about Ostapenko’s game that Swiatek finds so far?
“I think it’s quite difficult for her mentally to play against me because I won many times,” she said.
“She doesn’t like my style of tennis either. She likes to dictate the game more and she also tries to play aggressively. It is difficult for her in games against me – I try to play more aggressively. At the “US Open” I played against her, I lost the first set, but I continued to play my game anyway. I played aggressively and I think that’s how I won.”
Another player who has proven to be more of a challenge for Ostapenko is Coco Gauff who thrashed her 6-0, 6-2, at the US Open. Although she says she was lacking form during that match due to a lack of recovery time.
“She is a good player, still young. She plays much differently than Swiatek,” Ostapenko commented.
“She has a good serve, and plays well from the left, but when the score is equal, she goes more to the defence. Therefore, maybe against her, it is a bit more difficult. She runs very, very fast. Balls that many girls might not hit, she will hit, and sometimes they are very uncomfortable.”
Ostapenko is set to start her 2024 season at the Brisbane International during the first week of January.
