Jelena Ostapenko is quite an interesting player with a dedicated playstyle and a very exuberant personality which can be intense at times.
The Latvian is quite known as a player who doesn't see herself as capable of doing many things wrong. She's often pictured with a confused expression on the court unsure of how she missed a shot or how a shot was called wide or something similar.
It makes for excellent meme content, but being an umpire is not particularly fun. Just last year, she basically said that she doesn't trust electronic line calling, believing that it gets many calls wrong.
She can't lash out against machines, but she can do that against umpires, which is what happened during her match with Victoria Azarenka at the 2024 Brisbane International.
During a loss to Azarenka at the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane, Ostapenko lashed out against the umpire late in the third set, claiming that she ruined her matches.
It came after the Latvian thought that her opponent's ball bounced twice, which the umpire did not call. She also threatened the umpire that she would never be at her matches again.
You make so much mistake. With three bounce. I never want you on my match again. You will never be on my match. You will never be on my match. I don't want you on my matches. You ruin my match.
The beef Ostapenko has with this specific umpire dates back to 2019. Apparently, Ostapenko blames the umpire for her 2019 Linz Open final defeat from a few years ago, when Coco Gauff bested her in three sets. She even referenced that in her rant, saying that she would never forget it.
Final in Linz I will never forget. Never.
It's not the first time she had an outburst like this and it certainly won't be the final time. That's just how Ostapenko is and with emotions running high, you can kind of understand it.
It's not comfortable if you're the umpire, though.
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