Jelena Ostapenko Sparks Controversy at US Open Doubles
NEW YORK – Jelena Ostapenko does not do quiet afternoons at the tennis. Not in singles, not in doubles, and certainly not at the US Open.
The Latvian firebrand was at the centre of another storm on Sept 7, as she and partner Hsieh Su-wei of Chinese Taipei marched into the women’s doubles quarter-finals – and straight into a confrontation with an opposing coach.
They had just beaten the Australian–Chinese Taipei pairing of Maya Joint and Chan Hao-ching 6-4, 6-4, a straight-sets win that looked routine on paper. It was anything but.
Flashpoint on the changeover
The tension spilled over during a changeover. Hsieh walked to the chair umpire, while Ostapenko turned and pointed directly at the opposing team’s coaching box, demanding the official step in.
Ostapenko complained that the coach had been clapping and shouting after their errors, and offering sarcastic praise of their shots in Chinese. Hsieh translated the remarks for her partner, adding fuel to the fire.
“They do this because they know they cannot beat us,” Ostapenko told the umpire, labelling the behaviour “very disrespectful” and asking for a Chinese translator to be brought courtside.
The umpire acknowledged the complaints and agreed to address the situation. With that, the fourth seeds went back to work.
Turning up the heat
If the coach’s antics were meant to rattle them, the plan backfired. Ostapenko and Hsieh tightened their grip on the match, raising the tempo and striking more cleanly under pressure.
They closed out the second set 6-4, sealing the win with the sort of authority that has made them one of the most dangerous pairings in the draw.
The celebration was as pointed as the complaint. Ostapenko turned toward the opposing box and let out a full-throated roar, a visceral release aimed in one direction only. The temperature, already high, spiked again.
There was no handshake between Hsieh and Chan at the net, a stark ending to a contest that had been simmering for much of the afternoon.
A familiar edge
For Ostapenko, controversy is not a new doubles partner. The 2017 French Open singles champion has built a reputation as one of the sport’s most combustible competitors, her shotmaking brilliance often accompanied by sharp-edged disputes.
At the 2025 US Open, she clashed verbally with American Taylor Townsend, accusing her of having “no class” and “no education” during a heated exchange. Ostapenko later apologised, saying her words had been misunderstood because English is not her first language.
The pattern is hard to ignore: high stakes, high emotion, and Ostapenko in the eye of the storm.
Now she and Hsieh move on to the quarter-finals, their tennis humming, their competitive fire unmistakable. The question, as always with Ostapenko, is whether that same blaze will power a deep run – or ignite the next flashpoint in New York.
