‘I love the way Serena plays’: Jelena Ostapenko claims Serena Williams was her idol growing up

‘I love the way Serena plays’: Jelena Ostapenko claims Serena Williams was her idol growing up

Jelena Ostapenko and Serena Williams

Jelena Ostapenko has been in stupendous form lately. The Latvian tennis star made her way into the finals at the Luxembourg Open earlier this year where she was defeated by Clara Tauson. Post that, she had a forgettable outing at the Ostrava Open, but she made up for all that was lost by delivering a thumping performance at Indian Wells.

Jelena thrashed several top-rated stars, including second-seeded Iga Swiatek to make her way into the semis of the tournament. However, her journey was halted by Victoria Azarenka who defeated her in a hard-fought encounter. Nevertheless, Ostapenko would be mighty pleased by her overall run in the tournament.

‘Serena played with a lot of emotion’: Jelena Ostapenko

Serena Williams
Serena Williams

After Jelena won her quarter-final clash against in-form Shelby Rogers, she talked in detail about her idol growing up. She claimed that she looked up to Serena Williams a lot in her early days and watched a lot of her matches. Now it’s hard to say because I’m playing myself,” Ostapenko said when about her idol in her post-match press conference. “I’m not really watching anyone specific,” she said.

Before, of course, Serena Williams,” she went on to add. “I loved the way she played. I mean, she’s still playing now. Yeah, she was like my idol I think,” she stated. Ostapenko went on to add that she enjoyed the way Serena played with a lot of emotion as it was extremely entertaining.

“Serena Williams was the one I was looking up to, she was playing very aggressively. It was very nice and entertaining to watch her. She has, like, a lot of emotions when she plays,” she claimed. Ostapenko, unfortunately, couldn’t make her way into the final of the Indian Wells, however, it seems pretty certain that she will make her way into the finals of a top-level tournament in the near future if she keeps her form intact.

Also read: Who are the Team Members of Serena Williams?