Jelena Ostapenko took her first Grand Slam tennis title as a professional with her win in the 2017 French Open women’s final. In so doing, she became the first ever unseeded player to win the Open played at Roland Garros.
Ostapenko struggled in the first set against the No. 3 seed, Simona Halep, losing the set 4-6. But she battled back to win the 2ndand 3rd sets 6-4, 6-3. At just 20 years, 2 days, Ostapenko is not only the first unseeded player to win, but also the youngest first-time Grand Slam champion since 2004 when Svetlana Kuznetsova won the US Open at 19 years, 2 months.
But
she is making history in more ways than one. Ostapenko is the first player
to win their debut title at Roland Garros since Gustavo Kuerten won
on June 8, 1997, which happens to be the day Ostapenko was born. She is
also the first Latvian to win a Grand Slam final.
Halep, in her second Grand Slam final loss, moves up the rankings to No. 2 in
the world.
