PARIS (AP) If things had gone a little differently, Jelena Ostapenko might be taking part in a ballroom dancing competition somewhere back home in Latvia on Saturday, instead of playing against Simona Halep in the French Open final.
That’s because from about the age of 5, Ostapenko juggled her two hobbies, dancing and tennis, until picking one at 12.
Given her weekend plans, it seems as if she might have made the right choice.
Ostapenko, the first tennis player from Latvia to reach a Grand Slam final, still enjoys dancing – ”My favorite one is samba,” she said earnestly the other day – and practices four times a week.