Jelena Ostapenko: what comes next after French Open loss?
By Harry Floyd
Jelena Ostapenko splashes out of the French Open this year. She entered as the defending champion in women’s singles.
Defending French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko sees an early exit this year. After shocking the tennis world in 2017, the young Latvian fails to repeat her brilliant Grand Slam run. Ostapenko drops her round of 128 meeting with Kateryna Kozlova in straight sets.
The 66th ranked Ukrainian tennis player knocks out Ostapenko in a hard-fought match. She does, however, win in straight sets, going 7-5, 6-3. While the first set saw moments for either player to come out on top, Kozlova was the more consistent of the two. Ostapenko had an unusually high number of unforced errors and could not find her rhythm as the match progressed. Now, the question must be asked — what comes next for Ostapenko on the 2018 WTA Tour?
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The young Latvian made headlines in 2017 when he defeated Simona Halep to win the French Open. She instantly became a household name in women’s singles tennis. She has continued that success, as she entered the French Open this year as the world No. 5. Ostapenko is without a title so far on the 2018 WTA Tour though. Her up and down year has featured enough success to keep her in the mix among the best in women’s singles but she is yet to separate herself from the field.
The 2018 WTA Tour has largely been based around the likes of Caroline Wozniacki, Simona Halep, and Elina Svitolina. Veterans such as Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber are also reestablishing themselves in women’s singles tennis.
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Time will tell if Jelena Ostapenko can remain amongst the best in women’s singles tennis. Wozniacki, Halep, and Svitolina are off to fantastic starts on the 2018 WTA Tour. Kerber and other veterans such as Petra Kvitova are also experiencing resurgences. American tennis veteran Venus Williams sees an early exit from the French Open and could also lose some ground in the singles rankings. Stay tuned to see how the young Latvian tennis star and others fare in the second half of the 2018 WTA Tour.