Ostapenko drills opponent in the face, barely apologizes

Jelena Ostapenko has developed a reputation as a dirty player, and helped cement it when she hit her opponent, Veronika Kudermetova, in the face with this brutal volley, then barely apologized. But was this really a dirty play, or is it just part of playing doubles?

[aliengenius]

Part of the game....You are standing inside the court, the ball can hit you...Intentionally or otherwise

[heatherellis]

She is armed with a racket to hit/deflect the ball. If she is too slow then don’t play the net. If you are at the net sooner or later you will get hit. That is the game.

[MrUtoobee]

Part of the game. You are just one of the angle that an opponent is free to explore.

[GSM]

If you don’t wanna get hit don’t play doubles

[ctafrance]

What do you mean "barely apologized". Ostapenko clearly tried to apologize when they changed sides and the other player waved her off. It helps if people WATCH their own video posts.

[wales]

Dont be dare standing close the net when ostapenko is your opponent, since she hit the ball with extra power, otherwise this will happen. Want being save ? Just stay on baseline ... Its just an incident

[miguelbarahona]

The girl that was hit managed it like a Queen.

[SergioShiroi]

I don't think it was on purpose, but she could have apologized a bit more.
Even if it was on purpose, it's still perfectly valid

[RenA]

Judging by her overall behaviour, it was on purpose for sure.

[I_Love_Tennis]

part of the game but not the most respectful decision, if she aimed at her legs it would have been harder for her to return and not get hurt. Disrespectful as always from ostapenko for barely apologizing

[shiftt.]

Ostapenko called Rybakina a "b*tch" during a match, now we can see she is one herself. Didn't even apologize. Poor sportsmanship.

[italianstallion]

it's called tennis not invisible tennis. ostapenko is so sexy nowadays.

[JimPrieto-uh]

Cheap shot....ball was sitting up enough for Ostapenko to direct it wherever she wanted to and she took a huge swing at the ball not just a punch... she's too skilled a player to say that was just a reflex....plus her track record is full of unsportsmanlike actions so she doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt....that said her shot was totally legal.. still very poor sportmanship

[JW-zgwh]

Knowing ostenpenko it was definitely deliberate probably tried to argue the return off her face also as she’s easily the biggest crybaby on tour.

[johnmwakilili]

It's part of the game but it's Good to apologize at the very least to show you didn't mean it.

[rayronald]

Probably intentional from Penko.
Hit her collarbone not face though.

[xtianancheta]

It does not matter how many times she hit her face she is still more beautiful than ostapeko..

[GregJones-vkcy]

Cheap shot but stay at home if you don't want to get hit

[jjgalletta]

One of my regular tennis partners always seems to hit body shots into me. He’s new to the game so I cut him some slack. Funny thing is that he can’t seem to return the ball anywhere near me when we rally. We call him “Wild Thing.” 😂😂😂

[bachnghiem]

Iam sure Ostapenko aim for the player but not the face. I do that all the time to cut down reaction time.