Jelena Ostapenko‘s run at the Eastbourne Championships was truly inspiring. The former Grand Slam champion started strong on the grass, beating local wild card Francesca Jones 6-2, 6-2 in just 64 minutes. She carried the momentum into her match against Hungary’s Panna Udvardy. Despite dropping the first set, she came back strong, beating Panna 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 and the scorching heat. Still, Ostapenko suffered from heatstroke the night before her quarterfinal match against Zeynep Sonmez, but that didn’t stop her from dominating with a 6-3, 6-0 win. Unfortunately, she could not beat the heat during her semifinal match against Tatjana Maria, forcing the former Eastbourne champion to bow out mid-match.

Ostapenko was struggling physically from the start of the match. The Latvian player called for a medical timeout while down 1-4. The on-court medical personnel checked her vitals, and Ostapenko didn’t look in good shape. Although she carried on, she could make little progress against Maria, who is an able grass-court player and quite difficult to play against. Ostapenko lost the first set 6-1, but had a small 2-1 lead in the second. That is when the rain delayed the match, but Ostapenko had already made up her mind.

Most of the grass-court season is based in Europe, and the region is undergoing a serious heatwave, as seen at the French Open. In the grass-court season, Berlin saw temperatures over 30 degrees, while rain also played spoilsport, especially before the final between Jessica Pegula and Linda Noskova. Players like Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina have voiced concerns about playing in such harsh weather, risking injury and exhaustion.

Ostapenko was not the only one to retire from the semifinal. Petra Marcinko struggled in the heat against Madison Keys in the other match, after losing the first set 6-1, with Keys and Maria set to face off in the final. The retirement leaves Ostapenko with limited practice time before Wimbledon begins on June 29.

Jelena Ostapenko to face weather and a tough draw at Wimbledon

The conditions in London will further worry Ostapenko, as the mercury is over 35 degrees Celsius, and the forecast for the next two to three days is equally scorching. However, once Wimbledon gets underway, temperatures are expected to fall to the mid-20s, with windy conditions at SW19. If there is too much wind, that will provide a different challenge for Ostapenko, but at least she will be free from the oppressive heat.

However, the weather is the least of Ostapenko’s concerns, as the Wimbledon draw is pretty brutal for her. The Latvian player missed the seeding at the grass-court Major and will begin her campaign against Harriet Dart, who will have the crowd behind her as the home favorite. Should she win the first round, an even bigger home favorite like Emma Raducanu will potentially be the second-round opponent for Ostapenko. Should she win the match, Ostapenko’s biggest test will be a potential third-round clash against top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka. The Belarusian leads the head-to-head 3-1, but the last time they played, Ostapenko upstaged the World No.1 in Stuttgart last year.

Ostapenko’s power and baseline strokes are worthy of winning a Grand Slam, as the Latvian showed at the 2017 French Open, and has often shown glimpses of against a top-ranked player like Iga Swiatek, against whom she has yet to lose in six matches. At Wimbledon, her best came in 2018, where she reached the semifinal, losing to eventual champion Angelique Kerber.