Jelena Ostapenko makes crowd remark during Alexandra Eala match

Ostapenko was already down 4-0 in the second set when the situation began to escalate.

The crowd was largely behind Eala, and at 4-1, Ostapenko seemed to single out one spectator.

She appeared to motion for the person to come down and play in her place, in what seemed a sarcastic gesture implying she could take pointers from them.

This continued during the change of ends at 5-2, where Ostapenko spoke to an official and highlighted one individual, suggesting they should be removed if their behaviour persisted.

After that break, Ostapenko managed to turn things around dramatically, reeling off five straight games and saving a set point along the way.

Despite her issues with the crowd, Ostapenko didn’t seem to hold any grievances against Eala herself. In fact, she spoke positively about her opponent in her interview after the match.

What comes next for Alexandra Eala?

Eala’s struggles on clay have been well documented, but her early form this season has been encouraging. She won her opening match in Linz before putting up a strong fight against a former French Open champion.

Ranked 46th in the world, Eala has already defended nearly half the points she picked up during last year’s clay swing and faces a busy few weeks ahead.

Following her defeat to Ostapenko, she is set to play at the WTA 500 event in Stuttgart, where she gained entry after Qinwen Zheng pulled out. Eala will also feature in the Madrid Open and Italian Open, with a stop at the lower-tier La Bisbal WTA 125 event in between.

The 20-year-old then heads back to Roland-Garros, aiming to work her way back into the top 40 after slipping down the rankings following Miami.