"If I had won a Grand Slam when I was a bit older, I think I would have handled it better" - Prior major success stunted Jelena Ostapenko's glittering tennis career

Jelena Ostapenko is a very notable character on the court. This personality has helped her win some of the biggest titles the sport can offer, including at the Grand Slam level. While her prior success has not been repeated on the big stage in the years that have followed, she is looking to get back on the pathway to success.

Ostapenko caused a stir in the tennis world when she took home the Roland Garros title back in 2017. It was a huge breakthrough out of nowhere, with it being her first success on the WTA Tour. She chose a very special title to do it with, cementing herself in history as a Grand Slam champion.

She has not lived up to the hype since, however. She only just turned 20 when she took home the title, which in turn put a lot of pressure on her for the rest of her career. Now 28, she has won a number of titles but could never repeat the success on the Grand Slam stage, or even at the WTA 1000 level.

While it was her most sparkling achievement, she wants to focus on the current day and what she can do now instead of reminiscing on the past. "It was a long time ago," she said on The Sit-Down. "It’s a great achievement, but I want to live in the present and try to achieve it again—that’s what I’m working for."

Being from Latvia, she became a sensation overnight. The fame and popularity came thick and fast for Ostapenko, who acknowledged that maybe she could have handled the situation slightly better if completing a similar achievement today. "Honestly, if I had won a Grand Slam when I was a bit older, I think I would have handled it better," she said. "It took me a few years to get used to everything that happened. Coming from a small country like Latvia, the attention is huge. It’s nice, but also difficult because it can affect your focus."

Ostapenko has started the year brightly. She was under a lot of pressure to defend the large haul of points from last year's Qatar Open final run, and managed to avoid a huge penalty by reaching the semi-final stage. Currently sitting as world number 23, she will be looking to get some deeper runs in tournaments to continue to climb the rankings.

Since winning Roland Garros, Ostapenko has reached three WTA 1000 finals and won nine titles from 18 final appearances, five of them at 500 level, including her success last year in the Stuttgart Open. She will be defending that title in the coming weeks.

To do this, Ostapenko needs to stay mentally strong and focused on the task at hand and get some consistency into her game. "Some tournaments I was consistent, some not. What’s important now is to be more consistent, especially at the big events," she stated. "Tennis is 70–75% mental. You can play great in practice, but then not perform in matches. So I’m working on that—being more consistent and using my experience."

To deal with that on court, she is known to be a rather notable character on court, gaining the attention of many tennis fans. This has not all been good publicity, with the 28-year-old getting herself into some controversial scenarios in the past. There is a reason behind her madness. "It comes naturally. I’ve worked on it, but I also feel that if I keep everything inside, I’ll explode at some point. I’m more emotional than most players, but people who understand me appreciate that I’m just being myself."

She also likes it when other players do similar antics to her. "I like big personalities—like Aryna Sabalenka and Serena Williams. That’s what makes them special. As long as there’s a balance, showing emotion is a good thing."

The 2026 season is about to return to clay for a period of time. Ostapenko has had a lot of success on the surface and now sees it as an opportunity to achieve her target for the year. "To get back into the top 10 and to be more consistent, especially in the big tournaments."