Heated Scenes In Melbourne As Jelena Ostapenko Smacks Opponent In The Face | Watch

Last Updated:January 26, 2026, 12:02 IST

Jelena Ostapenko smacks Laura Siegemund in the face during Australian Open doubles match; Ostapenko and Hsieh Su-wei win.

Jelena Ostapenko had earlier faced a second-round exit from women's singles (Picture credit: AP)

2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko found herself in an embarrassing situation after a shot from her during her women’s doubles match at the Australian Open landed on her opponent’s face. Laura Siegemund was left red-faced after the hit.

Ostapenko, partnering Hsieh Su-wei in the women’s doubles, went on to win the match with a 6-3, 6-2 win against the pairing of Laura Siegemund and Sofia Kenin.

Ostapenko and Su-wei were in firm control at 6-3, 5-1, with the seventh game of the second set at 30-15 in favour of Siegemund and Kenin when the incident occurred.

Ostapenko charged the net and fired a powerful two-handed backhand straight at Siegemund. The German managed to contort her body and keep the ball in play, but Ostapenko followed up with another fierce backhand, this time striking Siegemund flush on the face.

The force of the shot knocked Siegemund to the court, though she regained her feet. A concerned Kenin checked on her partner, while Ostapenko offered an apology. Watch the video here:

At the 2025 Australian Open, Ostapenko and Su-wei advanced to the women’s doubles final but fell short against the Czech-American pairing of Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend.

“When you have a good vibe with a person and a good connection, I think it is great. Hsieh and I are having a lot of fun on the court. She is a great personality and I also feel like the more we play, the better we feel as a player, each other," Ostapenko said while speaking to The Sitdown.

In the 2024 Australian Open women’s doubles final, Ostapenko and Hsieh found themselves on opposite sides of the net. Hsieh, teaming up with Belgium’s Elise Mertens, claimed the title with a 6-1, 7-5 win against Ostapenko and her then partner, Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok.

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