It got lost a bit in New Zealand due to Michael Venus's stunning triumph in the French Open men's doubles final, but talks are already underway to bring Roland Garros women's champion Jelena Ostapenko back to Auckland for next summer's ASB Classic.
The Latvian who turned 20 on the day of her semi-final triumph over Timea Bacsinszky is a breath of fresh air for the women's game and having won her first Grand Slam with a phenomenal display of power hitting, must be top of tournament director Karl Budge's shopping list.
Budge has confirmed to NZME he chatted to Ostapenko's agent Ugo Colombini when he was in Paris and again by phone soon after the final where the Latvian came back from 6-4, 3-0 down to beat Simona Halep 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
To think she claimed her maiden Grand Slam title having not advanced past the fourth round in a Major before and entering the tournament with a ranking of 47 is staggering. But it's also a sign of the void that exists in the women's game following the enforced absence of Serena Williams through pregnancy, Maria Sharapova's drugs ban and now injury issues, Victoria Azarenka after having a baby and Petra Kvitova only just making her return following the attack in her home last December.
Ostapenko who will rise to 12 when the WTA rankings come out later today will clearly be in hot demand with the bigger WTA tournament in Brisbane no doubt also keen to sign her. But what perhaps gives Budge the upper hand is the fact he handed the then 17 year old a wildcard on a three year deal in 2015. Unfortunately that deal ended after this year's ASB Classic where Ostapenko showed glimpses of her talent in a first round demolition of New Zealand's Marina Erakovic and went on to lose to the eventual champion Lauren Davis in the semi-finals.
