World class sporting action, drama and a thrilled crowd: spectators at the 48th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix experienced a tournament of the highest level. Sunday’s semifinals will decide who will fulfil their dream of a place in the final. The four remaining contestants represent the high level of tennis that is a stand-out feature of the long-standing Stuttgart tournament once again this year.
Unseeded Ekaterina Alexandrova laid down a marker in the day’s first match as the 30-year-old beat the No. 3 seeded American Jessica Pegula surprisingly easily (6-0, 6-4). Playing powerfully and consistently throughout, she eventually wrapped up the match to gain revenge for her defeat in Charleston at the start of April. ‟I knew it wasn’t going to be easy after winning the first set so quickly,” said the world No. 22 who this week has already beaten two Top 10 players and is yet to lose a set. ‟I’ve never played as well on clay as I have here.”
Afterwards, Jelena Ostapenko caused the biggest surprise of the tournament so far by defeating Iga Swiatek, Porsche Friend in Poland 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 – and has therefore underlined her reputation as the Pole’s bogey opponent. In the sixth matchup with the world No. 2 and five-time Grand Slam winner, the 27-year-old Latvian claimed her sixth victory. After going off the boil in the second set, the 2017 French Open winner retook command in the decider controlling play with her powerful baseline game. For Swiatek, the 2022 and 2023 Stuttgart winner, today’s loss was, after last year’s semifinal exit, only her second defeat in the Porsche Arena. ‟I think she hates playing me, and I love it,” said Ostapenko grinning. She has now reached the semifinals for the first time in Stuttgart at her seventh attempt. Speaking afterwards, the Pole Swiatek looked ahead: ‟I’ll take the defeat as motivation to continue working on my game.”
Following on, Aryna Sabalenka enjoyed a successful tournament opener. After being given a walk-over into the quarterfinals as her opponent was forced to withdraw with an injury, the world No. 1 overcame the Belgian 6-4, 6-1 to reach a fourth Stuttgart semifinal. In her first clay court match of the season, the 26-year-old needed a little time to get going but then found her form. ‟I’m super happy with the win. Luckily enough I was finally able to get on court,” said the three-time major winner. ‟At the start ,I made a few unnecessary errors but on the whole, it was a pretty good match.” Asked about the winner’s car, a Porsche Macan Turbo, she was quite clear about her goal for the week: ‟I’ve been in the final three times and have always lost against the world No. 1. I’m the number one myself this year. I hope it’s my turn this time around.”
In the last quarterfinal, Jasmine Paolini proved impressively why she is one of the form players on the Tour. The world No. 6 came out on top against the No. 4 seed Coco Gauff (6-4, 6-3) and will therefore be making her maiden appearance in the penultimate round in Stuttgart. Playing the 21-year-old American, Paolini put on a convincing display when coming back after going 4-2 behind in the first set. ‟I told myself, you have to keep going, and it worked,” said the 29-year-old. ‟At the moment, I’m playing with a lot of confidence. I’m happy with my level and I just love playing on this court.”
Sunday’s semifinals promise world class tennis
Four players can continue having hopes of winning the 48th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Play will start on Sunday at 1.00 pm with a match involving two unseeded players as Ekaterina Alexandrova will meet the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko. Afterwards, the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will take on the Italian Jasmine Paolini in the second last four encounter. The day will then come to an end with the doubles final in which Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe from New Zealand, the top seeds in Stuttgart, will face the singles semifinalist Ekaterina Alexandrova and her Chinese partner Shuai Zhang.
Saturday’s results
Centre Court
Quarterfinals - singles
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs [3] Jessica Pegula (USA) 6-0, 6-4
Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) vs [2] Iga Swiatek (POL) 6-3, 3-6, 6-2
[1] Aryna Sabalenka vs Elise Mertens (BEL) 6-4, 6-1
[5] Jasmine Paolini (ITA) vs [4] Coco Gauff (USA) 6-4, 6-3
Court 1
Semifinals – doubles
[1] Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/Erin Routliffe (NZL) vs Timea Babos (HUN)/Luisa Stefani (BRA) 5-7, 6-3, 10-4
Ekaterina Alexandrova/Shuai Zhang (CHN) vs Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA)/Liudmila Samsonova 6-4, 4-6, 13-11
Sunday’s schedule
Centre Court
Semifinals, singles
From 13.00 pm
Ekaterina Alexandrova vs Jelena Ostapenko (LAT)
[1] Aryna Sabalenka vs [5] Jasmine Paolini (ITA)
Final, doubles
[1] Gabriela Dabrowski (CAN)/Erin Routliffe (NZL) vs Ekaterina Alexandrova/Shuai Zhang (CHN)
Porsche in Tennis
The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is the flagship of Porsche’s worldwide involvement in women’s tennis. First played in Filderstadt in 1978, the long-standing Stuttgart tournament has been held in the city’s Porsche Arena since 2006. It stands for tradition and innovation, as does the Porsche brand. As the most loyal sponsor of women’s international tennis, Porsche has accompanied the WTA’s oldest indoor event right from the start. Porsche has also been supporting women’s tennis internationally for years. Iga Swiatek, Eva Lys and Maria Sakkari are ‟Friends of the Brand” in their home countries. Porsche has been a premium partner of the ‟Deutsche Tennis Bund” (DTB – German Tennis Association) since 2012 and is committed to fostering up-and-coming players in the Porsche Talent Team and the Porsche Junior Team.
