Ostapenko stuns Sabalenka to win Stuttgart title

Stuttgart, Germany: Jelena Ostapenko stunned world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to win the WTA event in Stuttgart on Monday, securing the ninth title of her career.

Ostapenko, unseeded and ranked 24th in the world heading into the final, won 6-4, 6-1 to win her first title on clay since her 2017 French Open triumph. The Latvian cruised to victory, converting her first match point to lift her first WTA singles trophy since February last year.

“It’s great to share the court with you -- you’re a champion,” Ostapenko said to Sabalenka in her on-court interview. Three-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka has now lost four finals in Stuttgart in the past five seasons.

“I’m sure you hate me now because you wanted this car so badly, but I’m sure you’ll get it another time,” Ostapenko added of the car tournament winners receive as a bonus prize. The 26-year-old Sabalenka, who won the 2024 US and Australian Opens, is still waiting for her first tournament victory on clay since the 2023 Madrid Open.

“You were a better player than me, that’s all there is to it,” Sabalenka said. Ostapenko broke her opponent in the very first game of the match to set the tone. She did the same in the opening game of the second set, which appeared to break Sabalenka’s resistance, with the Belarusian growing increasingly frustrated. At one point, Sabalenka fell to the clay, but signalled to her opponent and the umpire that she was not injured.