Iga Swiatek reached her second consecutive Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final and Aryna Sabalenka her third, so we’re having a rematch of last year’s title match in Stuttgart.
In Saturday’s semifinal action, the second-seeded Sabalenka spent 58 minutes on the court to dispatch Anastasia Potapova 6-1 6-2. It’s the Belarusian’s 23rd victory this season, which puts her in the leading position when it comes to match wins, just ahead of Elena Rybakina and Jessica Pegula who have won 22 matches.
The world No.2 Sabalenka will try to make it third time lucky after losing the 2021 and 2022 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix finals to top-ranked players Ashleigh Barty and Iga Swiatek.
The top-seeded Swiatek had a less challenging route to the final than anticipated due to Ons Jabeur retiring from their semifinal down 3-0 because of a left calf injury.
The Pole is now one match win away from defending a title for the third time in career, after doing so at Rome 2021-22 and Doha 2022-23. If she triumphs in Stuttgart for the second year in a row, Swiatek will become the first player to achieve the feat since Angelique Kerber in 2016 and extend her winning streak at the tournament to 8-0.
The 2023 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final is scheduled for Sunday, 1 p.m. local time. Swiatek leads Sabalenka in head-to-head record, 4-2. It was Sabalenka who won their last encounter, in the semis of the 2022 WTA Finals, but Swiatek was superior in all their meetings on clay, including the 2022 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final, 6-2 6-2.
Even though she was dominated in the title match last year, Sabalenka acknowledges that she’s an improved player now, which is justified by her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2023 Australian Open and her current top position in the Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard. “Last year I was struggling a lot with a lot of things, especially my serve,” Sabalenka said. “This year I feel like a different player, different person right now. So I feel I’m much calmer on court.”
