Jelena Ostapenko achieved a remarkable victory at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, defeating the top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka with a score of 6-4, 6-1 in the final. This win marks her ninth career title on the Hologic WTA Tour and her first on clay since her Roland Garros victory in 2017.
Key Stats from Ostapenko`s Win
Ranked No. 24, Ostapenko ended a strong eight-match winning streak for Sabalenka, who recently won Miami. This victory improves Ostapenko`s record against current World No. 1 players to 3-1. Her previous wins include matches against Garbiñe Muguruza in 2017 and Iga Swiatek at the 2023 US Open.
After also defeating Swiatek in the quarterfinals this week, Ostapenko is now one of only nine players to have defeated both Sabalenka and Swiatek in the same tournament, and the first to do so on clay since Swiatek became No. 1 in 2021.
Ostapenko`s record for 2025 is now 12-9. Notably, she is undefeated against Top 10 players this year, with all four wins coming this week. However, her record is 8-9 against players outside the Top 10.
In finals, Ostapenko now has a balanced record of nine wins and nine losses, while Sabalenka`s record is 19 wins and 16 losses. Ostapenko is uniquely the only active player to have reached finals on all major court types: outdoor hard, indoor hard, carpet, grass, green clay, outdoor red clay, and indoor red clay. Among active players, excluding carpet courts, she is one of three with titles on outdoor hard, indoor hard, grass, outdoor clay and indoor clay, alongside Petra Kvitova and Karolina Pliskova.
How Ostapenko Secured Victory
In their previous three matches, Ostapenko had only won one set against Sabalenka, often with decisive set losses. Sabalenka`s powerful serve and consistent accuracy were usually key factors.
However, this match was different. Ostapenko dominated her first serve, winning 81% of those points. She also managed to read Sabalenka`s serve better than before, limiting Sabalenka to just 53% first-serve points won. This pressure allowed Ostapenko to create 11 break point opportunities, converting six, while facing only three break points herself (Sabalenka converted two).
Ostapenko demonstrated excellent match strategy. She started aggressively, quickly breaking for a 2-0 lead with powerful shots from all areas of the court. Although Sabalenka fought back to level at 4-4, Ostapenko regained control, breaking again for 5-4 and eventually winning the first set after a closely contested 57 minutes.
From 4-4 in the first set, Ostapenko won eight of the last nine games. In the second set, Sabalenka scored only 10 points, with just five on her serve. Ostapenko concluded the match in dominant style, securing a 1-hour, 25-minute victory with consecutive return winners.
More updates to follow…
