'Don't underestimate me': Former champ Jelena Ostapenko warns Roland Garros rivals

Jelena Ostapenko is preparing to compete at Roland Garros again, with her sights set on a great performance. The Latvian is not intimidated by the challenge and is confident in what she can do, standing out as a former champion of the tournament.

"As I said, don't underestimate me," said the former world No. 5. "People do this and then you go on court and you beat the good players and then they are like, okay, they probably don't underestimate you anymore."

The 27-year-old recently won the title at the Stuttgart Open, defeating Iga Swiatek – against whom she has an incredible 6-0 record – along the way, and in the final, she surprised world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka. She became the first player to defeat both the No. 1 and No. 2 en route to a clay-court title since Serena Williams at the Madrid Open in 2012.

Currently ranked world No. 21, Ostapenko downplayed the significance of her ranking. "I think it's not about just the ranking. I think it's more about the things I have to work on and the things I was working on, obviously, the last few months as well," she stated.

"And when they click and when everything comes together, the result will be there. It's not really about the rankings," she added. "Before I was very hard on myself and I'm such a perfectionist. So every time I lost a point, I was really like disappointed and then sometimes angry. But now I feel like I'm nicer with myself and it helps a lot."

"I think the most important thing is to be in good contact with yourself. And that's when the results will come," Ostapenko mentioned. "I mean, for sure. I always knew I can play well on clay court and I know how to move and slide. I just need to focus on the things I have to do."

The 2017 French Open champion is one of three Roland Garros champions in the draw, alongside four-time champion Iga Swiatek and 2021 champion Barbora Krejcikova. Ostapenko was ranked 47th in the world in 2017, and at 19 years old, it was only her second appearance at the French Open, where she had not previously recorded any wins. On her way to the final, she defeated opponents such as Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig, former No. 4 Sam Stosur, and former No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki.

In the final, she faced third seed Simona Halep – who had achieved two top-5 victories en route and seemed a huge favorite for the title. However, Ostapenko caused a surprise, and for the second time, Halep lost in the Roland Garros final.