After being still for two weeks, the WTA rankings have undergone quite a reshuffle following the 2017 French Open and the most amazing novelty is that we have two Latvians in the Top 20, as shock Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko has climbed from No.47 to No.12, while Anastasija Sevastova retained her No.19 position.
Just how surprising and spectacular Ostapenko’s rise is illustrates the fact that before this year’s French Open her career prize money totaled $1,288,260, while her triumph at the claycourt Grand Slam earned her $2,351,097.
The 20-year-old Ostapenko is the first Latvian player — male or female — to win a Grand Slam title, while prior to Roland Garros 2017 the deepest a Latvian player had been at a major was a semifinal appearance of ATP player Ernest Gulbis in Paris 2014, while in women’s competition it had been the third-round appearance of Latvian-born Larisa Savchenko-Neiland way back in 1984 and 1989 representing USSR. Moreover, as Sevastova reached the third round at the just finished Roland Garros, it was the first time in the Open Era that two Latvian women have reached the round of 32 at the same Grand Slam.
The one thing that remained the same in the top of the WTA rankings is that Angelique Kerber is still the No.1 player, even though her position was in major danger by Karolina Pliskova and Simona Halep. Moreover, failing to defend her title, Garbine Muguruza has fallen from No.5 all the way to No.15, while the next biggest ranking mover within the Top 20 is Caroline Wozniacki, who has climbed five spots to No.7.
How amazing it is that in the WTA Top 20 we have two players from a country with just about 2 million inhabitants!
Fun fact: Did you know that Ostapenko doesn’t know how to ride a bicycle? We saw that during the 2017 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix when she won a bicycle as part of her doubles champion’s prize. 🙂
Jelena had a dream run! She was fearless on her shots. I like her emotions and she is fun to watch! Definitely a new favorite.