NEW YORK—“I was actually, like, flying in the cockpit,” Jelena Ostapenko said when she made her first trip back to her native Latvia after winning the French Open in June.
“When I saw the red carpet out of the plane, I was a little bit nervous. I didn’t really want to step off the plane.”
Red carpets, flights in the cockpit, parades in her honor: This is what life is like these days for the sport’s newest and least likely celebrity. At a time when tennis had begun to feel middle-aged, Ostapenko has given it a much-needed jolt of youthful vigor. The 20-year-old didn’t just win in Paris; she crash-landed on the city, and the game, like a meteor.
According to her coach, Anabel Medina Garrigues, speed is always of the essence with Ostapenko—she plays fast, walks fast, talks fast, thinks fast. And on Thursday at the US Open, she won fast, beating Sorana Cirstea, 6-4, 6-4, in a crisp 90 minutes. Only her 13 double faults made the match last as long as it did.
As usual, Ostapenko made up for her serving woes with her baseline brilliance. After starting the year ranked 44th, she has now advanced to the third round or better at all four majors in 2017.