Jelena Ostapenko was in complete command of her match against Paula Badosa at the Canadian Open. The Latvian powerhouse was dominating with her usual aggressive style. However, the match took an unexpected turn when Ostapenko made a bizarre request that left everyone puzzled. It was a moment that overshadowed even her impressive performance on the court.

Ostapenko’s two-hour and four-minute match against the Spaniard was indeed a physically demanding task! But the former World No. 5 showed no signs of discomfort while tackling the Citi Open winner for the fifth time in her career, which ultimately resulted in her 3-2 lead over Badosa. However, there was one problem that she faced during the match and it did not involve tennis but her focus on hydration!

After Badosa succeeded in taking a lead over the Latvian player in the first set and finished it at 6-3, Ostapenko knew she had to bounce back to take her opponent’s power away. But at first, she requested some water during the match. But unfortunately, the team brought her flavored water.

Unhappy at this, the 27-year-old during the third set changeover approached chair umpire Jenny Zhang with a straightforward yet specific request: fetch her sparkling water from the players’ lounge(Reports ESPN’s John Horn). Mind you, by then, Ostapenko had already won the second set(7-6) and was heading for a third one, which she again won (6-2) later on. As the tennis world chuckled at this ‘unusual request’, the world no. 11 quenched her thirst with her water as well as a victory.

This is not new for the tennis fans, as they have seen the WTA player’s ‘tantrums’ and angry outbursts quite a few times on-court. Even in her 2024 Madrid Open fourth round clash against Ons Jabeur, she lost her temper, uttering some words in her native language after winning a game against Jabeur, who remained dominant over Ostapenko during the entire match. 

Besides, when she angrily talked with her team during her second round Australian Open match, and even sent them away in frustration later on, fans criticized her behavior once again. Moreover, during her 2022 Wimbledon match, we all saw another incident that ultimately led her to pay a huge fine too!

Throwback to when Ostapenko had another water bottle incident during her match

The former French Open winner has had many outbursts on-court, many of which were not seen in a good light by fans and tennis enthusiasts. One such incident occurred during her fourth round clash against Tatjana Maria. She eventually lost the game, but it took a wild turn when she knocked over her chair with a water bottle in anger after the defeat. The then 25-year-old player was not only booed by the crowd but also had to endure a punishment for her “unsportsman-like conduct.”

It was one of the biggest punishment handed out at that year’s Wimbledon tournament. A fine of $10, 000 (£8,400)! After her 7-5 5-7 5-7 loss to Maria, she acknowledged that her frustration with the loss led to her throwing the water bottle. “Of course I had emotion. I’m a human, and it’s normal. I’m not going to let it go and say, ‘it’s fine, I lost, and it’s fine….Obviously I’m an emotional player. I hate losing, as I said before, because I’m such a competitive person.” 

Fast forward to the present and you will find Ostapenko fighting to make a comeback victory at the Canadian Open. But the question is, will this time her performance be the talk of the town or her tantrums?