Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok clinched the women’s doubles title at the US Open 2024 with a 6-4, 6-3 win over the Chinese-French duo of Zhang Shuai and Kristina Mladenovic on Friday.
This victory represents the first Grand Slam doubles title for Ostapenko, a former French Open singles champion, and Kichenok, who had previously reached this year’s Australian Open final together.
Ostapenko and Kichenok secured an early break in the second game and, despite the Chinese-French pair leveling the set, managed a crucial hold in an eight-deuce game where they saved five break points to lead 5-4.
Subsequently, Zhang failed to sustain the set, conceding it to the seventh seeds with a double fault on the second set point.
In the second set, Zhang and Mladenovic initially broke for a 2-0 lead, but Ostapenko and Kichenok broke back for 3-3 and then broke Mladenovic to love, advancing to 5-3. Ostapenko then served out the match.
“We are an excellent team, and it was just an incredible two weeks… We didn’t expect anything; we just kept playing better with each match and didn’t lose a single set, so it was a fantastic tournament,” Ostapenko stated during the trophy presentation on the court.
“After the match point, I still get goosebumps. It’s an incredible feeling… I’m fortunate to have such a partner by my side on the court. Thank you for supporting me these two weeks,” expressed Kichenok, who has now won two Grand Slam titles, her first being at the Wimbledon mixed doubles in 2023.
