Jelena Ostapenko banishes coach from her player box in heated exchange during Wimbledon QF loss to Barbora Krejcikova

Jelena Ostapenko kicked her coach out of the player's box during the quarterfinal match against Barbora Krejcikova at Wimbledon. The Latvian banishing him reaped immediate results as she broke Krejcikova's serve to level the second set.

Ostapenko had a great tournament at Wimbledon and she had not dropped a set en route to the quarterfinals, defeating Ajla Tomljanovic, Daria Snigur, Bernarda Pera, and Yulia Putintseva in subsequent rounds. However, she met a formidable opponent in Krejcikova who downed her in straight sets in the last eight.

A bizarre incident happened in the second set when Ostapenko, annoyed by the result of the match, vigorously pointed to her player's box, seemingly asking someone to leave. At one point, she banished her coach, Stas Kumarsky, from the box. The change brought about a positive outcome as she fought back to level the second set 4-4.

She would, however, go on to lose the match in the tiebreak to end her campaign at Wimbledon.

Jelena Ostapenko will have a chance to make amends as she is still in the doubles draw at Wimbledon. She has partnered with Lyudmyla Kichenok and will face fourth-seed Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend in the quarterfinals.

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Jelena Ostapenko gives warm hug to Barbora Krejcikova following frosty handshake remarks

Jelena Ostapenko pictured at Wimbledon 2024

Jelena Ostapenko recently cleared the air around her frosty handshakes, especially after losing a match. She appeared for an interview on the Tennis Channel and admitted to getting very disappointed often after losing.

"When I lose, I'm really disappointed and honestly I have to shake hands but that's the last thing I want to do at that moment," Ostapenko said.

The Latvian blamed her 'champion mentality' for the lack of warmth during handshakes, adding that she should improve in this domain:

"Yeah, I mean I probably should be better in this but I'm really like disappointed after the loss because my mentality is like a champion's mentality. Especially if I was fighting until the last point and I lost the match, I'm really angry."

Ostapenko also clarified that she did not harbor personal animosity towards her opponents:

"It's nothing personal to the opponents, I'm just really disappointed at that moment. It's just that I'm pissed I lost and I'm like, 'I really don't want to do this.'"

Jelena Ostapenko offering a racquet tap rather than a handshake to Victoria Azarenka after the Qatar Open loss in the second round left many fans disappointed with the Latvian's action. However, she redeemed herself at Wimbledon, giving her quarterfinal opponent Barbora Krejcikova a warm hug even after losing.