Jeļena "Aļona"Ostapenko[2] (born 8 June 1997) is a Latvian professionaltennis player. She has career-highrankings of world No. 5 in singles and No. 3 in doubles by theWTA.[3] Ostapenko has won nineWTA Tour-level singles and eleven doubles titles, including a singlesmajor at the2017 French Open and a doubles major at the2024 US Open, partneringLyudmyla Kichenok.
Ostapenko was born on 8 June 1997 inRiga, Latvia to formerUkrainian footballer, Jevgēnijs Ostapenko (d. 2020) and Latvian-Russian tennis coach and former player, Jeļena Jakovļeva. Jevgēnijs played professionalfootball forMetalurh Zaporizhzhia in the southeastern Ukrainian city ofZaporizhzhia, where Jeļena's grandmother lives.[6][7] Jeļena has one half-brother, Maksim, who lives in theUnited States.
Ostapenko was introduced to tennis at age five by her mother and idolisedSerena Williams while growing up. She also started dancing at that age, going on to compete in the nationalballroom dance 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.[8] Ostapenko speaksLatvian, Russian, and English.[9][10]
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 theLatvian name calendar, so she was named Jeļena after her mother.[11] 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.[12] 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.[11] She uses her legal name professionally in order to avoid administrative confusion.[13]
Aside from tennis, Ostapenko is an avid baker and enjoys cooking in her free time. She also has a dedicatedInstagram page for her hobby where she regularly shares images of her culinary creations.[14]
At theLadies Neva Cup, Ostapenko went through qualifying and won the biggest title thus far. AtWimbledon, Ostapenko defeated the ninth-seededCarla 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,[19][20] before losing toKristina Mladenovic.[21]
She reached the final of thePremier 5Qatar Ladies Open in Doha, beating world No. 8,Petra Kvitová, on the way. She was beaten by Carla Suárez Navarro in the final, nevertheless she rose to No. 41 in the world rankings.[25]
At theFrench Open, Ostapenko was seeded in the singles at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in her career, but she dropped her opening match toNaomi Osaka.
At theFrench Open, Ostapenko, then ranked 47th in the world, defeatedLouisa Chirico,Monica Puig,Lesia Tsurenko, and Samantha Stosur. She then facedCaroline Wozniacki 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 wasAna Ivanovic in 2007), oppositeTimea Bacsinszky on 8 June, the birthday of both players.[29][30] 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 sinceMima Jaušovec in 1983 and the first Latvian player to reach the final of a major.[31] In the final against third-seededSimona 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.[32][33][34] Ostapenko also became the first player sinceGustavo Kuerten to win his or her first career title at a Grand Slam tournament; coincidentally Kuerten won his first title at the1997 French Open on the day Ostapenko was born.[35] With the win, she reached a new career-high ranking of world No. 12.[32]
Then, at theUS Open, she reached the third round by defeatingLara Arruabarrena andSorana Cîrstea,[37] before losing to Daria Kasatkina.[38] 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 theKorea Open in Seoul.[39] In theWuhan Open, she beatBarbora Strýcová and Monica Puig to reach the quarterfinals, where she scored her first win over a reigning WTA number one, Garbiñe Muguruza,[40] extending her winning streak to eight in a row. She lost toAshleigh Barty in the semifinal.
In October, she reached the semifinals of theChina Open, losing to Simona Halep.[41] At theWTA Finals, she scored a win over Karolína Plíšková but lost to Muguruza and Venus Williams.
Playing at theMiami 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 qualifierDanielle Collins to reach the final, in which she lost to No. 12 seedSloane Stephens.
Ostapenko entered theFrench Open as the fifth seed, but failed to defend her title, losing in the first round toKateryna Kozlova. Following the loss, she left the top ten for the first time since entering. AtWimbledon she beatKaty Dunne,Kirsten Flipkens,Vitalia Diatchenko and Aliaksandra Sasnovich to reach the quarterfinals for a second successive year,[44][45] then beatDominika Cibulková to reach her first Wimbledon semifinal, which she lost to eventual winnerAngelique Kerber.[46] A left wrist injury caused her to withdraw from theWTA Elite Trophy, and she ended the season ranked No. 22.
Ostapenko's first tournament of the year was theShenzhen Open where she lost in the first round toMonica Niculescu. She went on to play at theSydney International, where she lost to Ash Barty in the first round. At theAustralian Open, Ostapenko was seeded 22nd and lost toMaria Sakkari, again in the first round.[47] 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.[48] At theFrench Open, she lost toVictoria Azarenka in the first round,[49] but reached the quarterfinals of the doubles event withLyudmyla Kichenok, falling toElise Mertens andAryna Sabalenka.[50]
Ostapenko also lost in the first round of theWimbledon Championships toHsieh Su-wei.[51] Despite the loss, alongsideRobert 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.
AtJūrmala, Ostapenko was defeated in the first round byBernarda Pera, but she reached the final of the doubles alongsideGalina Voskoboeva; the pair lost toSharon Fichman andNina Stojanović. AtToronto, Ostapeonko defeatedCaroline Garcia and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova to reach the third round, before losing to qualifierMarie Bouzková; in doubles, she and partner Lyudmyla Kichenok lost in the first round toJulia Görges and Karolína Plíšková. AtCincinnati, she was defeated in the first round of the singles tournament byYulia Putintseva, and, partnering with Kichenok once again in the doubles, defeatedRaquel Atawo andHan Xinyun in the first round, before falling toLucie Hradecká andAndreja Klepač, the eventual champions. Finally, she had some success at theUS Open where she beatAleksandra Krunić and 2019 Wimbledon quarterfinalistAlison Riske, in straight sets, to reach her first Grand Slam third round of the season where she faced wildcardKristie Ahn to whom she lost in straight sets. In doubles, she and Kichenok were defeated in the first round byCaroline Dolehide andVania King.
AtZhengzhou, she defeatedYou Xiaodi in the first round, before falling to Aryna Sabalenka. AtSeoul, she lost toTímea Babos in the first round, and also lost in the first round of the doubles tournament where, partnering with Kirsten Flipkens, she fell toHayley Carter andLuisa Stefani. AtTashkent, she retired in the first round againstKatarina Zavatska. AtBeijing, 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 withDayana Yastremska; they lost toSofia Kenin andBethanie Mattek-Sands. AtLinz, Ostapenko defeatedTamara Korpatsch, Alizé Cornet, and Elena Rybakina en route to reach her first semifinal appearance since2018 Wimbledon. In the semifinal, she came from a set and a break deficit to defeatEkaterina Alexandrova in three tight sets. In her first final since2018 Miami, Ostapenko facedlucky loserCoco Gauff, losing in three sets. At Linz, Ostapenko announced that she had added fellow Grand Slam championMarion Bartoli to her coaching team.
AtLuxembourg, Ostapenko defeatedCaty McNally in the first round, and then defeated top-seeded Elise Mertens in the second round. She then defeatedAntonia Lottner andAnna 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.
After participating in the2020–21 Billie Jean King Cup, where she lost toSerena Williams, but defeated Sofia Kenin before losing in the deciding doubles rubber to Kenin and Mattek-Sands, Ostapenko played atSt. Petersburg, where she lost to Alizé Cornet in the first round, while struggling with illness and jet lag.[52][53]
Upon the resumption of the WTA Tour following the COVID-19 pandemic, she withdrew from all North American events. Her first match was atRome, where she lost in the first round in straight sets toMagda Linette. AtStrasbourg, she reached her first quarterfinal of the year, defeatingLauren Davis andKiki Bertens, before losing to Nao Hibino in two tiebreak sets. She progressed past the first round of theFrench Open for the first time since 2017, defeatingMadison Brengle and Karolína Plíšková, before falling toPaula Badosa. AtOstrava, in receipt of a wildcard, she defeatedPetra Martić before losing toOns 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 theMadrid 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 theItalian Open, her first since 2018, by defeating Angelique Kerber. She had match points against Karolína Plíšková, but lost in a third set tiebreak. At theFrench Open, Ostapenko lost in three sets to fourth seed Sofia Kenin in the first round.[54]
At the start of theUS Open Series, Ostapenko competed at theCanadian Open as an unseeded player and lost in straight sets to the also unseededKateřina Siniaková.[61] At theCincinnati Open, also unseeded, she defeatedTamara Zidanšek in the first round and 13th seedJennifer Brady (by retirement) in the second before losing to Angelique Kerber in the third.[62]In late August, Ostapenko withdrew from theUS Open for medical reasons. In September, she reached the final of theLuxembourg Open, losing toClara Tauson in three sets. She ended the year winning the doubles title alongside Siniaková at theKremlin Cup in Moscow.
Ostapenko reached the third round at theAustralian Open, falling to Barbora Krejčíková after winning the first set. At theDubai Championships, she defeated four Grand Slam champions — Sofia Kenin,Iga Świątek, Petra Kvitová, and Simona Halep — en route to the final.[63] In the championship match, she defeatedVeronika 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.[64] 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.[65]
At theQatar 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,Madrid, andRome), losing toShelby Rogers in consecutive matches. In Madrid, she reached thesemifinals in doubles alongside Lyudmyla Kichenok, losing to eventual championsGabriela Dabrowski andGiuliana Olmos. At theFrench Open, Ostapenko lost in the second round to Alizé Cornet, in three sets.[66][67] Indoubles at the same tournament, she reached the semifinals of a major for the first time, partnering again with Kichenok.[68]
AtWimbledon, Ostapenko reached the fourth round in singles losing toTatjana Maria, after missing two match points.[69] At the same tournament, she entered thedoubles semifinals with Kichenok, and themixed doubles quarterfinals, partneringRobert Farah.At theCincinnati Open, she defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia in the second round, before losing toMadison Keys. In doubles with Kichenok, she reached the final, defeating Australian Open finalists Haddad Maia andAnna Danilina and top seeds Kudermetova and Mertens. The pair won their biggest title defeatingNicole Melichar and Ellen Perez.[70] 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 theUS Open.
Ostapenko and Kichenok qualified for the2022 WTA Finals, where they reached the semifinals.[71]
She ended the season ranked No. 18 in singles and No. 14 in doubles.
Ostapenko became the first Latvian women's player to reach the quarterfinals of theAustralian Open, defeating top-10 player Coco Gauff en route. This was only the fourth Major quarterfinal of her career and the first since the2018 Wimbledon Championships.[72] She lost to eventual finalistElena Rybakina in straight sets.
In May, Ostapenko reached her firstItalian Open semifinal, defeating Barbora Krejčíková, Daria Kasatkina, and Paula Badosa en route; this was her first clay semifinal since winning the2017 French Open.[73][74] She lost to eventual champion Elena Rybakina, in straight sets.[75]
Seeded 20th at theUS 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.[78]Then, at the WTA 1000China Open, she reached the quarterfinals defeating fourth seedJessica Pegula, her 20th top 10 win.
She reached the final atAdelaide by defeating Sorana Cirstea,Caroline Garcia,[79] 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.[80]
At theAustralian 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 seedsGabriela Dabrowski andErin Routliffe, in straight sets. Ostapenko became the first Latvian finalist at the event.[81]
She reached her second WTA 500 final for the season at theLadies Linz defeating Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova.[82] She won her second title of the season and eight overall defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova, her second win over the Russian for the season.[83] It was the first time since 2017 that she won multiple titles in a season.[citation needed]
She entered theUS Open seeded tenth in singles, but was defeated in the first round by wildcard and previous two-time US Open champion Naomi Osaka.[90] In doubles at the same tournament, she reached her second Slam final for the season with her partner Lyudmyla Kichenok, defeating Anna Danilina andIrina Khromacheva in the quarterfinal,[91] and then Veronika Kudermetova andChan Hao-ching in the semifinal also in straight sets. Ostapenko became only the second Latvian finalist at the event at the US Open.[92][93][94] Ostapenko and Kichenok defeated Kristina Mladenovic andZhang Shuai 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.[95] 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.[96]
Ostapenko and Kichenok qualified for the end-of-seasonWTA Finals inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia, as top seeds but were eliminated in the group stages after losing all three of their matches.[97]
Partnering Hsieh Su-wei, Ostapenko reached the doubles final at theAustralian Open, losing to top seeds Kateřina Siniaková andTaylor Townsend in three sets.[98][99][100] At the start of the Middle Eastern swing, she lifted the title inAbu Dhabi with first-time partner Ellen Perez.[101] At theQatar 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 seedJasmine Paolini.[102] Ostapenko proceeded to defeat three-time champion and world No. 2, Iga Świątek, in the semifinal,[103] but lost the final to Amanda Anisimova in straight sets.[104]
Partnering Erin Routliffe, she won the doubles title at theCharleston Open in April, defeating Caroline Dolehide andDesirae Krawczyk in the final.[105][106] Also in April, she won theStuttgart 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.[107][108] Partnering Hsieh Su-wei, she reached the doubles final atWimbledon, losing to Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens in three sets.[109][110]
At the 2025 U.S. Open, after losing a second round match toTaylor Townsend, Ostapenko felt "disrespected" because Townsend had not apologized for adead net cord during play. A heated exchange ensued when the match concluded, with Ostapenko saying her opponent had “no class” and “no education.”[111]
Ostapenko is an aggressive baseliner, with an attacking playing style.[112] In a 2017 article, Steve Tignor ofTennis.com described Ostapenko's mentality as "See ball, hit winner."[113]Eurosport labeled her style as "risky, aggressive, fun tennis".[114]
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".[115][116] 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.[117][118][119] 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.[29][120] Before her participation in the2017 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."[119] One of her major weaknesses is a high error rate due to her high-risk approach.[29]
At the 2017 French Open, where Ostapenko won her first professional title, she regularly hit between 35 and 45 winners throughout her matches.[29][121] Following her quarterfinal performance, she attracted multiple comparisons toMonica Seles.[30][113] Ostapenko said in an interview at the event that "aggressive is my style of game".[113] 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's Simon Cambers wrote: "Fear just does not seem to come into [Ostapenko's] vocabulary... Her groundstrokes are simply massive, flat swipes of the ball that left Halep... grasping at shadows."[122][123]
Ostapenko serving during practice at the 2019 Sydney International
The major weakness in Ostapenko's game is her serve, which is highly inconsistent[citation needed]. 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[citation needed]. Her second serve is hampered by nerves, and a frequently wayward ball toss, meaning that she double faults frequently[citation needed]. In 2017 and 2019, she was the WTA Tour leader in double faults, hitting 436 double faults in 2019.[124] 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 againstKarolína Plíšková, she served 25 double faults, and had a first-serve percentage of 49%, while still winning the match. However, after being coached byMarion Bartoli at Linz for the first time, her serve began to show some improvement, and in the final againstJulia Görges at Luxembourg, she did not double fault once.[citation needed]
Ostapenko is the only player to reliably beatIga Świątek, having as of April 2025 a record of six wins and no losses.[125][112][126][108]
Ostapenko usesWilson Blade racquets, but is currently without an apparel sponsor, having previously been sponsored byAdidas for clothing and shoes; andNike prior to that.[127] At the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon 2022 she wore DK ONE, a Latvian brand.[128]
Ostapenko is coached by her mother. In 2017, she also trained with two-time French Open doubles championAnabel Medina Garrigues.[113][129] She parted company with Medina Garrigues at the end of 2017, taking on David Taylor – former coach ofSam Stosur and Ana Ivanovic – to coach her for the majors, with her mother remaining as her full-time coach.[130][131] In October 2019, Ostapenko partnered with 2013 Wimbledon championMarion 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 theCOVID-19 pandemic, and began to be coached on a trial basis byThomas Högstedt, the former coach ofMaria Sharapova andSimona Halep. This partnership was not extended into 2021, and Bartoli began coaching Ostapenko once again in February 2021, following the birth of her daughter, atDoha. Ostapenko subsequently started working with Ukrainian coach Stas Khmarsky.[132]
Ostapenko andIga Świątek have met six times since 2019. Ostapenko has won every match on every single surface, 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 the2023 US Open and the2025 Stuttgart Open. Her aggressive, high-risk style has consistently unsettled Świątek.[108]
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 toNaomi Osaka, 2018 toKateryna Baindl, and 2019 toVictoria Azarenka). This run ended in 2020, as she advanced to the second round, after beatingMadison Brengle.