"Serena Williams can be my idol, but when I play against her, I have to see her as a player" - Jelena Ostapenko revisits tough Fed Cup loss to legend 

Jelena Ostapenko recently discussed facing Serena Williams on the court. The Latvian acknowledged the difficulty of leaving behind her admiration for the tennis icon during the match.

The duo faced off against each other at the 2020 Fed Cup qualifiers, with Williams eking out a tight two set win 7-6(4), 7-6(3).

In hindsight, Ostapenko believes that she might have been far too starstruck to be able to give her best on court as she noted in her latest appearance for the WTA Insider podcast.

Looking back at the match, the Latvian said she played really well but could not give her best in the crunch moments. She remembers being overwhelmed by the idea of playing her ‘idol’ and the thought did not help her cause.

"Sometimes when you respect someone too much, it can put pressure on you," Jelena Ostapenko said. "In Everett, when we played Fed Cup [in 2020], I was playing against Serena Williams and she was always my idol."

Ostapenko added that she realised in that moment that one can idolize a certain player, but has to leave all that aside when facing them in a competitive setting.

"I lost to her 6-7, 6-7. I felt like I was playing really well. When it came to the tiebreak, in both sets, in my head I thought, 'Oh my god, I'm playing Serena.' She was always my idol. I felt this didn't help me to win. She can be my idol, but when I play against her I have to forget these things and I just have to see her as a player," she added.

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Jelena Ostapenko shared idol Serena Williams' interest in fashion and clothing

Much like Serena Williams, Jelena Ostapenko also takes an active interest in designing her tennis outfits.

Much like Serena Williams, Jelena Ostapenko also takes an active interest in designing her own clothes.

While the American had a historied partnership with Nike for a long time, Ostapenko teamed up with Latvian brand DK One for her own tennis clothing line.

The former Roland Garros champion spoke about her views on fashion and style in the chat with the WTA insider.

"As long as you can mix the clothes in a nice way, and it looks good, it doesn't matter how much the clothes are," Jelena Ostapenko said. "If you can put it together and it looks nice, that's what's important."