(Video) Jelena Ostapenko Argues with Umpire Upon Being Handed Foot Fault After Hitting Ace

Jelena Ostapenko is chasing her first title since winning the 2025 Stuttgart Open.

(Video) Jelena Ostapenko Argues with Umpire Upon Being Handed Foot Fault After Hitting Ace

Jelena Ostapenko committed foot fault during the Qatar Open (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)

In Short
  • Jelena Ostapenko argued with the umpire after being called for a foot fault following an ace during her match against Anastasia Zakharova.
  • She won the match 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4, advancing to the round of 32 at the Qatar Open.
  • Ostapenko is also set to compete in doubles with Hsieh Su-wei, starting their campaign on February 10.

Jelena Ostapenko, after her early exit at the Australian Open, kicked off her campaign for the Middle East Swing at the Abu Dhabi Open. At present, she is competing at the Qatar Open.

During her opening-round match against qualifier Anastasia Zakharova, Ostapenko, while trailing 2-4 in the first set tie-break, served, but the chair umpire called a let, to which the Latvian ace shrugged, unable to believe that the ball touched the net cord.

She then smashed an ace only to be handed a foot fault by the umpire. Ostapenko struggled to believe what just happened and tried to argue with the umpire, but eventually regrouped and continued playing.

Watch the video here:

Ostapenko secured a berth in the round of 32 with a 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-4 scoreline. The win helped the World No.24 secure a 1-0 head-to-head lead over Zakharova. She will next be locking horns with Ekaterina Alexandrova, against whom she holds a 6-5 head-to-head edge. Alexandrova, the eighth seed, has received a first-round bye and will be starting her campaign in Doha against the 2017 French Open champion.

Ostapenko is chasing her first WTA 1000 title, and has made the finals thrice, including twice in Doha. She finished the first WTA 1000 of the season as a runner-up last year, losing to Amanda Anisimova. In Abu Dhabi, Sara Bejlek ended her run in the round of 16.

Ostapenko is also playing doubles along with Hsieh Su-wei. They will start their campaign on February 10 against the pair of Andreja Klepac and Katarzyna Piter.

Before the Australian Open, Ostapenko featured in two more events Down Under. She started her campaign for the 2026 season at the Brisbane International but fell in the first round against Sorana Cirstea. At the Adelaide International, then, she gave the walkover to Tereza Valentova in the first round.

Jelena Ostapenko set to play the ATX Open

Jelena Ostapenko is set to play the outdoor hardcourt ATX Open, a WTA 250 event, scheduled to be held from February 23 to March 1 at The Westwood Country Club in Austin, United States. The tournament announced on Instagram that it handed the wild card to Ostapenko.

Jelena Ostapenko
Jelena Ostapenko (via The Tennis Letter)

Wow… the field just keeps getting more insane, Austin. We’re adding another Grand Slam champ to the mix: Jelena Ostapenko!

Ostapenko won the 2017 French Open against Simona Halep, and since then, she has failed to win another Grand Slam singles title. Last year, she reached two finals: she lost to Amanda Anisimova at the Qatar Open and later went past World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Stuttgart Open final. So far in her career, she has played 18 singles finals, winning nine titles.

Last year in the Majors, she failed to make the fourth round. After her first-round exit at the Australian Open, Ostapenko suffered defeat in the third round of the French Open and was eliminated in the second round of Wimbledon, before losing in the second round of the US Open.

In Grand Slam doubles, however, Ostapenko and Lyudmyla Kichenok defeated Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai at the 2024 US Open. She made three more Grand Slam doubles finals: at the 2024 and 2025 Australian Open and at the 2025 Wimbledon. And in WTA 1000 doubles, she has two titles to her name: at the 2018 Qatar Open and the 2022 Cincinnati Open.

Ostapenko made global headlines after her US Open second-round match, which she played against Taylor Townsend. As the American did not apologize for a point off the net cord, this led to an altercation between the two players during the handshake. Ostapenko told Townsend she had “no class” and “no education”.

Also read: Elena Rybakina Aims to Keep the Momentum Going in Doha After Australian Open Victory