GRASS GROWS ON JELENA

JELENA OSTAPENKO is the star attraction at next week’s Aegon Classic in Birmingham after the withdrawal of Maria Sharapova.

The five-time Grand Slam champion is still suffering from the “muscle tear” she sustained in Rome and will miss the whole grass-court season – including Wimbledon.

“I will continue to work on my recovery and my next scheduled tournament is in Stanford on July 31,” said the Russian. New French Open champion Ostapenko targeted the grass-court season after shocking Simona Halep at Roland Garros.

Ostapenko (left), 20 last week, won 4-6 6-4 6-3 to become the first unseeded player to win here since 1933. She said: “Grass really suits me, so I am really looking forward to playing on it this year.”