"Hoodies, t-shirts, and caps. We’ve been working on it for almost a year" - Jelena Ostapenko opens up on new clothing line launching soon

Originally tasked to play against two-time Grand Slam finalist Amanda Anisimvoa, Jelena Ostapenko was forced to adapt on her feet as she would go on to take on Elena-Gabriela Ruse at the Rome Open. It was a tricky sequence of events to clamber over, but she did so successfully won win 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Just hours before the match, Anisimova withdrew from the Rome Open with a left wrist injury still having not been healed as Roland Garros draws closer. Ostapenko, a former champion in Paris, had to get up to speed against a new opponent. The lucky loser got out of the blocks quicker, but Ostapenko did well to find her feet and book her spot in the third round for the seventh time in the Italian capital.

"I mean, it’s not easy when you expect to play someone else and then, at the last minute, the opponent changes," she told the Tennis Channel after the match. "It’s tough. So it took me some time to adapt to that. I don’t think I played very well in the first set, but in the second and third sets I started to play my game, dominate more, and I’m really happy with the way I finished."

She offered Anisimova her best wishes while unveiling how fine she cut it in terms of withdrawing. "Basically, after the previous match finished today. I found out before I went on court—maybe about an hour and a half before the match. I hope Amanda feels better. I was expecting a great match against her because she’s a great player. But honestly, it’s never easy when everything changes at the last minute."

Clay is a surface that Ostapenko is fond of. At Rome specifically, she has made the quarterfinal stage four times and the semi-final back in 2023. The highlight was when she emerged as a big name back in 2017, winning her first and only Grand Slam at Roland Garros.

She explained how her game suits clay. "I think it’s about my game and choosing the right moments to hit the ball big. Even if the clay court is fast, you still need to be more patient. I felt I did that well today in the second and third sets. I was dominating, but I wasn’t giving away many free points."

She won that Roland Garros title as a 20-year-old. A lot of time has passed since then, but she has been unable to reach the overall heights some expected. However, the Latvian believes she is on the right path.

"I feel like I’m on the right path. I think my decision-making is better now—understanding the right moments to play aggressively and the moments when you need to be more patient. Sometimes you have to go for your shots, and sometimes you have to stay calm. Making the right choices at the right moments is really important."

Away from singles, she is also a handy player when it comes to doubles events. She is a former US Open doubles Grand Slam champion and reached the semi-final stage of Roland Garros 2022, and still regularly takes to the court with someone else by her side. Last year she was with Su-Wei-Hsieh for a large period of the year, reaching the WTA Finals semi-final along with the quarterfinals in the Australian Open at the start of the year. She has chopped and changed since then.

It is still enjoyable, but singles is the priority with a lot of tennis being played if she goes on deep runs in both events. "Definitely. As long as I’m not playing both finals, because then it becomes a lot of tennis. But doubles gives you another opportunity to compete instead of just practising. You’re still playing matches against great players, and you can work on a lot of things. And when I play with good partners, I always enjoy it."

Ostapenko is enjoying her time on court, but there are plans away from tennis that are also very exciting. She unveiled her intentions of opening a clothing line.

"We’ve been working on my merchandise line, which is coming very soon—hoodies, t-shirts, and caps," she explained. "We’ve been working on it for almost a year. It’s a big project, and it’s going to be very limited. We don’t have a huge number of products, but we should launch in one or two weeks."

Ostapenko fans will be able to pick themselves up some merch from the Latvian in the near future, wherever they are in the world. "Everywhere online. People will be able to order worldwide."

For the time being, Ostapenko will focus on the tournament in Rome. The Olympic gold medallist Qinwen Zheng will be her next task. The Chinese talent has been stripped of consistency on the court after a challenging elbow injury has resulted in her spending a lot of time away from the court.

Ostapenko will look to continue her performance levels from the latter stages of her second round match. "I want to keep playing the way I did in the second and third sets—being consistent and going for my shots without hesitation. If I can do that, I think it’s going to be dangerous for my opponents," she concluded.