Ostapenko dominates in Eastbourne grass season opener

Jelena Ostapenko, currently ranked 35th in the WTA rankings, played her first match on grass this season on Monday at the Eastbourne International. Her opponent was Britain's fourth-ranked player Francesca Jones, who is 103rd in the world. The Latvian showed a dominant performance, winning in straight sets 6-2, 6-2.

At the start of the match, Ostapenko earned a break point with an aggressive shot, and although she did not convert the first opportunity, she continued to press. After winning four consecutive points, she took a 2-0 lead. Later in the first set, she saved a break point and extended her lead to 3-1, eventually winning the last eight points to close the set 6-2.

In the second set, Ostapenko maintained her attacking play, breaking Jones's serve immediately for a 2-0 advantage. In the seventh game, she earned a double-break lead (5-2) with a powerful shot and finished the set with an ace – 6-2.

The match statistics highlight Ostapenko's superiority: she hit four aces to Jones's one, made five double faults (Jones had 11). She won 86% of points on her first serve (opponent 57%) and 60% on her second serve (opponent 47%). Overall, she converted four of six break points, while Jones failed to convert her only opportunity.

Notably, Ostapenko wore a distinctive outfit with a deep neckline at the front and back, as well as slits on both sides of the skirt. The temperature during the match was around 24 degrees Celsius.

Since the start of 2025, Ostapenko has an interesting record: 6-3 against Top 10 players and a balanced 29-29 against all others.

In the second round (round of 16) on June 24, Ostapenko will face either Hungary's Panna Udvardi (ranked 71st) or Anna Bondar (ranked 75th).