French Open debutant Peyton Stearns produced the biggest win of her career by defeating former champion Jelena Ostapenko to reach the third round at Roland Garros on Wednesday.
Stearns, a former player at the University of Texas, turned professional in June last year.
Ostapenko won the 2017 French Open but has since failed to advance past the third round. The 17th-seeded Latvian dropped her serve five times against Stearns and hit 28 unforced errors in a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 loss.
Ostapenko’s loss, combined with Barbora Krejcikova losing in the first round to Lesia Tsurenko, means Iga Swiatek is the only former champion remaining in the women’s draw.
The 21-year-old Stearns has been climbing the WTA rankings and entered the French Open at No. 69 on the back of an encouraging clay-court campaign.
Third-seeded Jessica Pegula also advanced after Camila Giorgi retired due to injury. The American won the first set 6-2 before her Italian rival threw in the towel.
Only hours after husband Gael Monfils won a five-set thriller in Tuesday night’s session, Elina Svitolina rallied past qualifier Storm Hunter 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
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French Open debutant Peyton Stearns stuns ex-champ Jelena Ostapenko
