"Seriously does Jelena Ostapenko know what a double bounce is?" - Serena Williams' ex-coach reacts to Lativan lashing out at umpire in Brisbane
Rennae Stubbs, former coach of Serena Williams, recently commented on Jelena Ostapenko's spat with chair umpire Julie Kjendlie during her quarterfinal at the 2024 Brisbane International.
Ostapenko, the No. 3 seed, faced Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 tournament on January 6. With the match poised at 5-4 in the deciding set, Ostapenko lost her cool at Kjendlie over a disputed double bounce call.
The Latvian thought the ball had bounced twice before Azarenka hit her shot, but Kjendlie disagreed. During the changeover, Ostapenko was heard lashing out at the umpire over the call, saying she never wanted Kjendlie to officiate any of her future matches.
The former Roland Garros champion was also heard recalling her loss to Coco Gauff in the final of the 2019 Linz Open, where Kjendlie was the umpire.
"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. Final in Linz I will never forget. Never," Ostapenko said.
Rennae Stubbs, who coached Serena Williams towards the end of her career, reacted to the incident on social media. She joked that, from now on, Kjendlie will always thoroughly check her schedule in the hope of avoiding Ostapenko. Stubbs also questioned Ostapenko for her reactions to the disputed call.
"Umpire Julie Kjnedlie must just look at her schedule when she gets Ostapenko and say “oh bloody hell”… seriously does she know what a double bounce actually is????? 😂," Rennae Stubbs wrote on X.
Jelena Ostapenko wins doubles title at 2024 Brisbane International
While Jelena Ostapenko's stay at the Brisbane International in the singles ended in the quarterfinals against Victoria Azarenka, she went on to lift the doubles title at the tournament.
The 26-year-old paired with her regular partner, Lyudmyla Kichenok, and received a bye in the first round as the 5th seed. They began their campaign with a hard-fought, 5-7, 7-5, 13-11 win against the Russian duo of Ekaterina Alexandrova and Anna Kalinskaya.
Ostapenko-Kichenok sailed through their quarterfinal match against Magda Linette and Bernarda Pera, defeating them 6-4, 6-4. The pair then received a walkover in their semifinal match against Daria Kasatkina and Daria Saville, before beating Greet Minnen and Heather Watson in the title contest 7-5, 6-2.
This was Jelena Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok's third doubles title as a pair on the WTA Tour. They also lifted the trophies at the 2022 Birmingham Classic and the 2022 Western & Southern Open.