Aryna Sabalenka will work to break through on the Stuttgart indoor clay as the world No. 1 bids for the title in a rare Monday final against Jelena Ostapenko in a battle of Grand Slam winners.

Double Australian Open holder Sabalenka is desperate for a change of luck after losing finals here in 2021 (Ash Barty), 2022 and 2023 (the last two against Iga Swiatek).

The top seed booked her spot with Sunday’s 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Italian Jasmine Paolini, duplicating a defeat of the two-time finalist at the majors from last month in Miami.

Ostapenko, who won Roland Garros in 2017, defeated Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-4.

With the event taking a day off for Good Friday, the final is delayed by 24 hours, 

Sabalenka got a bye in the first round and a walkover in the second and only began her first actual match on Saturday.

She showed no rust in her semi-final, ending the first set against Paolini without an unforced error. She overcame a 3-0 lead from the Italian in the second set but got it back before an insurance break for 5-4 followed by victory in 89 minutes.

Ostapenko will be competing in her first clay final in nearly eight years – her first since Roland Garros back in the day.

Jelena Ostapenko cast a spell over Iga Swiatek for the sixth straight time, with the Latvian stunning the former WTA No. 1 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 win to reach the semis at the indoor Stuttgart event on Saturday.

The Baltic bomber has never lost to the Pole and will play a Sunday semi against Ekaterina Alexandrova, who upset third seed Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-4.

Aryna Sabalenka, seeking her first trophy in Stuttgart, defeated Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-1 to reach a fourth semi-final.

The top seed may have annoyed the chair umpire by taking a photo on a contest ball mark on the clay after the official refused to check a mark on the clay..

“I felt the referee was pissed by the picture I took. When I gave her a handshake, that was a very interesting look and strong handshake,” the world No. 1 said.

The event was paused on Friday due to Good Friday and will play a Monday final.

Ostapenko, the 2017 champion at Roland Garros, secured her win in just over two hours. The result leaves four-time French Open titleholder Swiatek 

Swiatek suffered only her second defeat here after 11 match wins. But she seems defenceless against Ostapenko, who has defeated her four times on hardcourt – most recently a February Doha semi – and once on grass.

Ostapenko stated her intentions by sweeping the opening four games of the German match while breaking her opponent three times and earned 12 of the first 15 points in the deciding third set.

The Emma Raducanu gold dust seems to be nowhere to be found, with the Briton who won the 2021 US Open from a qualifying start to burst into tennis notoriety seemingly a spent commercial force.

In the nearly four years since her unlikely New York triumph, the suburban Londoner has managed a mere two semi-finals – In Seoul, 2022 and last summer on grass in Nottingham.

With a 47th ranking, the former teenaged tennis princess is being left behind, not helped by a revolving door of coaches, reportedly choreographed by her Romanian-born father.

British tabloid media have been keeping score on the vast Raducanu sponsorship portfolio – and are issuing warnings of trouble.

Her first big financial hit may have arrived, with London’s Mail reporting that she and Vodafone have parted company, with her nearly USD 4 million contract now up in smoke.

Raducanu signed that deal in the heady days following her Grand Slam win. She was also snapped up by others including British Airways, Dior, Porsche – 2024 reports that the company took back her complimentary sports coupe have yet to be verified.

But she tellingly withdrew from this week’s massive Porsche WTA event in its home city of Stuttgart, Raducanu’s remaining sponsors rs include Tiffany & Co, Evian and HSBC along with kit sponsor Nike and racquets by Wilson. 

Main photo:- Emma Raducanu with her sponsored Porsche coupe in 2024 – © Porsche