Jelena Ostapenko and her partner Hsieh Su-wei advanced to the women’s doubles quarter-finals at the US Open on Monday, but their victory was marked by a tense confrontation involving the opposing team’s coach. The fourth-seeded duo defeated Australian-Taiwanese pair Maya Joint and Chan Hao-ching 6-4, 6-4, in a match overshadowed by disagreements off the court.

During a changeover, Hsieh approached the umpire to raise concerns about the conduct of Joint and Hao-ching’s coach. Ostapenko then pointed toward the coach, alleging that he had been clapping and shouting after the pair made errors, and sarcastically praising their shots in Chinese. Hsieh, who is fluent in Chinese, translated the remarks for Ostapenko, who described the behaviour as “very disrespectful” and requested a Chinese translator be present to address the issue.

“They do this because they know they cannot beat us,” Ostapenko told the umpire. After the official agreed to intervene, the match resumed with Ostapenko and Hsieh intensifying their play, ultimately securing the straight-sets victory.

The encounter ended on a strained note, with Ostapenko celebrating loudly toward the opposing team’s box, while Hsieh and Chan Hao-ching did not shake hands after the match. Ostapenko, who won the French Open singles title in 2017, has been involved in several on-court disputes throughout her career, and this latest episode highlights ongoing tensions in high-stakes doubles competition at Grand Slam events.