Jelena Ostapenko shocked world number one Aryna Sabalenka, securing the WTA title in Stuttgart on Monday in straight sets, marking the ninth victory of her career.
Entering the final unseeded and ranked 24th in the world, Ostapenko triumphed with a 6-4, 6-1, claiming her first clay title since her 2017 French Open win. The Latvian player sailed through to victory, taking her first match point to win her first WTA singles title since February of the previous year.
Sabalenka, a three-time Grand Slam champion, has now experienced four final losses in Stuttgart over the past five seasons.
Despite winning the US and Australian Opens in 2024, the 26-year-old is still pursuing her first clay tournament title since the 2023 Madrid Open.
Ostapenko set the stage early by breaking her opponent in the very first game of the match. She replicated this in the opening game of the second set, which seemed to diminish Sabalenka’s resistance as the Belarusian became increasingly agitated.
At one moment, Sabalenka fell onto the clay but reassured both her opponent and the umpire that she was not injured.
This tournament victory wraps up a remarkable week for Ostapenko in Germany.
She defeated five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek, who is ranked second, in the quarter-finals, followed by a straight-sets win over Ekaterina Alexandrova in the semi-finals.
As a result of her win over Sabalenka, Ostapenko will move up six spots in the WTA rankings to 18th place after finally defeating Sabalenka on the fourth attempt.
