"All people are different" - Jelena Ostapenko on breaking the stereotype of 'polite' tennis players by being herself at all times
Jelena Ostapenko pointed out that it is never boring when she is competing on the court as she shows her emotions to everyone watching.
The Latvian is often criticized for letting out emotions and disappointments during her matches. During her 2023 Australian Open fourth-round win against Coco Gauff on Sunday, she expressed her dissatisfaction with the electronic line calling system at the tournament.
In her post-match press conference, the former French Open champion cheekily pointed out that there was never a dull moment when she was on the court.
"With me, it's never boring (laughing) on the court, so I think that's what the fans like. Of course, sometimes I can go a little bit too much, but I'm an emotional person in general," said Ostapenko.
The 25-year-old revealed that it was really difficult to find a balance of emotions while playing but mentioned that she was getting better at it in 2023.
"It's always hard to find this balance. As I always said, it's easy to judge from the outside, but when you are on my place, it's a little bit different. All people are different. Somebody is more calm. Somebody is more emotional.
"So I try to find a balance, and I'm looking for it now. I feel like this week is a bit better (laughing)," she added.
"It's going to be a hard match against Elena" - Jelena Ostapenko
Jelena Ostapenko reached the last eight of the Australian Open after defeating American Coco Gauff 7-5, 6-3 in straight sets in the Round of 16.
While analyzing her match, the Latvian mentioned that she played pretty well against the American and was happy with her performance.
"I think I played really well. I'm really happy with the way I played today. I think I was stepping onto the court and took a lot of time away from her, so didn't really give her to play her game. I'm just happy to be through to the quarterfinals," she stated.
Jelena Ostapenko will next face reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina for a place in the semifinals and she predicts she will be in for a tough match against the Kazak.
"I'm just trying to take one match at a time and not to look at the draw completely. So try to prepare as well as possible for every match. Of course, it's going to be a hard match against Elena, but we played a couple of times, and I know how to play against her," she added.