Jelena Ostapenko exited the US Open singles tournament on Wednesday evening, but didn’t do so quietly…
Losing to Taylor Townsend in straight sets, Ostapenko confronted her opponent at the net after the match.
Seemingly disappointed with Townsend failing to apologize for a net cord, Ostapenko reportedly said she lacked ‘class’ and ‘education’ according to the American in her post-match interview.
Several big names have commented on the incident, including Ben Shelton, who said Ostapenko’s comments were ‘shocking’.
Long-time viewers will know that Ostapenko is no stranger to controversy and has been involved in several memorable incidents over the past few years.
Jelena Ostapenko was booed by fans at Wimbledon for knocking her chair over in 2022
Travelling to London as the number-12 seed, Ostapenko made a bright start to her Wimbledon campaign in 2022, advancing to the fourth round.
- 2022 Wimbledon 1R – Jelena Ostapenko defeated Oceane Dodin, 6-4, 6-4
- 2022 Wimbledon 2R – Jelena Ostapenko defeated Yanina Wickmayer, 6-2, 6-2
- 2022 Wimbledon 3R – Jelena Ostapenko defeated Irina-Camelia Begu, 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Standing between Ostapenko and a third career Wimbledon quarterfinal was German veteran Tatjana Maria, who had already knocked out two seeded players at SW19.
In a tight match, Ostapenko and Maria traded two 7-5 sets, as they headed to a decider on Court One.
There, Ostapenko earned herself two match points at 5-4, but was unable to convert, as Maria came back to secure a 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 win.
Furious with the defeat, Ostapenko launched a water bottle at her chair, knocking it over.
Reacting to her meltdown, the fans booed Ostapenko off the court before celebrating Maria’s big win.
Asked about the criticism in her post-match press conference, Ostapenko argued it’s ‘easy to judge’ from the outside.
“I’m an emotional player. I hate losing because I’m such a competitive person,” she said.
“Of course, maybe I shouldn’t have done this, but it’s easy to say from the outside when you are not in my place, it’s easy to judge.”
Six years earlier, Ostapenko was ‘judged’ by one of her fellow WTA stars, who claimed the Latvian should have been disqualified from their match in Auckland.
Naomi Broady said Jelena Ostapenko deserved to be disqualified at the 2016 ASB Classic
During the second round of the 2016 ASB Classic, Naomi Broady and Ostapenko were in the midst of a tense second-set tiebreaker when the drama kicked off.
Losing a point to hand Broady a 3-2 lead, Ostapenko’s racket flew towards a ball boy.
Ostapenko argued the racket slipped out of her hand, but Broady wasn’t having it, as she made her feelings clear to the umpire.
“She threw the racket and hit the ball boy,” said Broady.
“It was accidental? Come on… No way. You’ll see on the replay, no way it was accidental.
“She should be disqualified.”
Allowed to continue, Ostapenko lost the tiebreaker and the following set, as Broady advanced to her second WTA quarterfinal.
The pair exchanged words at the net, and Broady still had a lot to say during her post-match press conference.
“I think it was quite clear that she threw her racket, and it hit a ball kid, which should be straight disqualified. I think on the replay it’s quite clear it didn’t slip from her hand,” she said.
Nine years on, Ostapenko finds herself embroiled in controversy once more, clashing with Townsend at Flushing Meadows.
They could interestingly, meet again at the US Open, as both players are set to compete in the women’s doubles event.
Townsend will partner with Katerina Siniakova, while Ostapenko joins forces with two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova.
Both teams will begin their US Open doubles campaigns on Thursday, August 28, as Siniakova/Townsend play Aldila Sutjiadi/Nadia Kichenok, and Krejcikova/Ostapenko play Timea Babos/Luisa Stefani.
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