Jelena Ostapenko on Serena Williams: “My idol was always Serena. I was always watching her. The way she was on the court, firing it up & all the emotions. I really love it. I think that’s what makes tennis a great game. I’m older now.. I hope I can be an idol for some kids.” 🥰
"My idol was always Serena": Ostapenko speaks on admiration for Serena Williams after defeating sister Venus Williams in Birmingham
WTAFriday, 23 June 2023 at 13:00
Jelena Ostapenko defeated Venus Williams at the Birmingham Classic and after the match, she spoke about her admiration for Serena Williams who was her idol.
It was a battle of two former grand slam champions with Ostapenko ultimately getting it done. The Latvian player was cruising in the match winning the opening set and having a lead in the second set but saw herself get a bit nervous which caused her to start to miss a lot. She's prone to those mood swings on a tennis court and a lot of her matches seemingly end up being more complicated than they need to be.
In the end, she was able to turn things around despite being a break down and much of that had to do with Williams getting tired. The American is banged up as well with some knee problems troubling her since the start of the event. After the match, Ostapenko paid tribute to Venus but also Serena whom she considers her idol.
My idol
There are many players who grew up and thought of Serena as her idol. Ostapenko is one of them and she sports a very similar aggressive and attacking playstyle that Serena had. She's not on the level of Serena but she won a grand slam in her career and is still one of the best when everything is working is working. Her words on Serena were:
“My idol was always Serena. I was always watching her. The way she was on the court, firing it up and all the emotions. I really love it. I think that’s what makes tennis a great game. I’m older now. I hope I can be an idol for some kids."
The style Ostapenko plays is certainly very entertaining ot watch so she'll certainly inspire some kids to play like she does.
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