World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka has once again reached the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final, marking her fourth appearance in the last five years. She is now one step away from securing her first ever title in Stuttgart.
In a tense semi-final match on Sunday, Sabalenka, the top seed, defeated No. 5 seed Jasmine Paolini with a score of 7-5, 6-4. The 1-hour and 35-minute victory was a repeat of Sabalenka`s win against Paolini in the same round of the Miami Open last month.
`It was a really tough match,` Sabalenka admitted after her victory. `Jasmine played incredible tennis and made me fight for every point. I actually enjoyed the battle and I`m very happy to be in another final here.`
Sabalenka is set to face Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia in the singles final on Monday, promising a powerful hitting contest. Ostapenko secured her spot in her second final of the year by defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-4 in the first semi-final of the day.
Sabalenka holds a 3-0 winning record against Ostapenko, including a straight-sets victory on clay in Rome last year.
Sabalenka`s Impressive Weekend: Despite having no prior play this week until Saturday evening, Sabalenka has managed to win two matches in under 24 hours without dropping a set. However, both sets against sixth-ranked Paolini were closely contested.
Sabalenka started strong in the semi-finals, gaining an early 3-0 lead with two breaks. But Paolini showed resilience, clawing her way back to level the score at 5-5. Notably, Paolini played the entire first set with zero unforced errors.
Despite Paolini`s clean play, Sabalenka managed to take the first set. A powerful return gave her a crucial break for 6-5, and she finally served out the set on her third attempt.
In the second set, Paolini reversed the script, taking a 3-0 lead. However, Sabalenka quickly responded, breaking back to level at 3-2 with another strong return. She then secured another break at 5-4 with a forehand winner.
A final forehand winner down the line sealed the match for Sabalenka, who tallied 30 winners and converted six out of eight break points.
Sabalenka hopes that her fourth Stuttgart final will be a successful one. She previously lost the 2021 final to Ashleigh Barty and the 2022 and 2023 finals to Iga Swiatek.
`I want to win this title more than ever,` Sabalenka expressed. `After losing three finals here, it becomes a really important goal.
`It`s high on my priority list, and I`m determined to succeed here. This final is very important to me, and I will make sure to bring my best game tomorrow.`
Ostapenko`s Strong Clay Performance: Earlier in the day at the Porsche-Arena, Ostapenko needed 1 hour and 29 minutes to defeat Alexandrova, an opponent she has faced frequently.
Prior to Sunday’s semi-final, they had played each other 10 times, with their head-to-head record tied at 5-5. Alexandrova had also won both of their previous matches on clay.
This time, however, Ostapenko was determined to win, advancing to her first WTA clay-court singles final in almost eight years. Her last clay final was a significant one – her victory at the 2017 Roland Garros.
Ostapenko`s aggressive play was evident in the first set, where she hit 12 winners compared to Alexandrova’s six. This victory extended her winning streak to six matches, including her quarterfinal win against former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Saturday.
Ostapenko`s powerful shots continued in the second set, forcing errors from Alexandrova and securing an early break to lead 2-1. At 4-3, Alexandrova had an opportunity to break back, but Ostapenko used well-placed forehands to hold serve and maintain her lead.
Serving for the match at 30-30, Ostapenko hit a perfect ace down the T, setting up match point. Alexandrova then hit her return into the net, and Ostapenko celebrated reaching her 18th WTA singles final.
`It was not an easy match,` Ostapenko said after the match. `Alexandrova was hitting a lot of powerful shots. I think I played well and managed to win in two sets today.`
Jasper Hawthorne 
Dominic Ashworth