"I have always enjoyed competing in front of Latvian tennis fans," said Ostapenko. "Unfortunately, this year there will be no Billie Jean King Cup or WTA tournament in Latvia, so I decided to play in the WTA 250 tournament in Tallinn. I'm looking forward to meeting the Estonian top seeds as well as other top players. I invite all Latvian tennis fans to come to Tallinn at the end of September to enjoy high level tennis."

Ostapenko, who has risen to 16th in the latest WTA world rankings, became the first Latvian player to win a Grand Slam singles title tournament after defeating Romania's Simon Halep in the final of the 2017 French Open.

"We are very pleased that Jelena Ostapenko has agreed to participate in the Tallinn Open," said tournament director Allar Hint. "Jelena is a world class player, Grand Slam champion, and also from our neighboring country, which is definitely a good combination and also gives the Latvian audience the opportunity to come to our tournament to see their star player."

Ostapenko, who reached as high as number 5 in the WTA rankings in early 2018, last played in Tallinn in July 2020 in the Estonian-Latvian tennis competition which saw the best players from the two countries competing against each other for the Merko Cup.

Tennis fans will be hoping the Latvian has chance during the tournament to renew her on court rivalry with Estonia's top player Annet Kontaviet (WTA 2). In their four previous meetings, Kontaveit has come out on top three times, however Ostapenko did defeat the Estonian in straight sets in the final of the 2021 Eastbourne International to take home the trophy.

Kontaveit along with Kaia Kanepi (WTA 31), has already agreed to participate in the tournament.

The qualifying rounds of the WTA 250 Tallinn Open will get underway on September 24 and 25 at the FORUS Tennis Center in Tondi. The main tournament starts on September 26m with the final scheduled to take place on October 2.

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