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Jelena Ostapenko hit a highly unusual double fault during her 2022 Korea Open match, leaving those watching quite stunned. During her Round of 16 match against Anastasia Gasanova, the 2017 French Open champion smashed a second serve that went haywire, to say the least.
Ostapenko completely lost direction on her second serve while serving in the third set, smashing it way off the service box on the opposite side of the court, and Ostapenko herself was shocked. The incident occurred at an important stage of the game and the match, with the Latvian serving at 3-2, 30-30 in the deciding set.
The unusual double fault drew a wide range of reactions from tennis fans, who did not mince their words in their assessment of the shot.
"Genuinely love that even grand slam champions can still do stuff this terrible," one fan wrote on Twitter.
"Haven’t done that since I was 12," another fan wrote on Twitter.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans to Jelena Ostapenko's serve gone wrong during the ongoing Korea Open:
Jelena Ostapenko went on to win a thrilling Round of 16 match against Gasanova, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5. She then won her quarterfinal match, 6-2, 6-1, against Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva to set up a semifinal clash against Emma Raducanu.
Jelena Ostapenko's 2022 season so far
Jelena Ostapenko lost in the third round of the Australian Open at the start of her 2022 season. Soon after, she made her first semifinal of the year at the St. Petersburg Open. The 25-year-old clinched her maiden title of the season at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships in February, defeating the likes of Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova, and Simona Halep en route to the title. She then reached another semifinal at the Qatar Open the following week.
The World No. 19 experienced a lean patch soon after, making it past the Round of 64 in just one of the next six tournaments. She then made the final on the grasscourts of the Eastbourne International shortly before Wimbledon, losing to Kvitova in the final. Ostapenko lost in the 4th round at Wimbledon.
During the American hardcourt swing, Ostapenko lost in the second round of both the Canadian Open and the Cincinnati Open, and in her opening match at the US Open.
She will now aim to continue her newfound momentum and translate a semifinal appearance at the Korea Open into her second title of the season and 6th career title on the WTA tour.
