Jelena Ostapenko is the new tennis queen of Stuttgart. The 27-year-old Latvian won Easter Monday’s final of the 48th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix against Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-1 to secure her first tournament win in the Porsche Arena. For Ostapenko, it is her ninth career title and only the second on clay after her triumph at the 2017 French Open.
She converted her first match point – with an unreturnable forehand winner – in front of the 4,200 thrilled spectators after only 85 minutes. Playing in Stuttgart for the seventh time, Ostapenko, who had previously never progressed past the quarterfinals, was visibly very moved. ‟I love playing here,” she said during the winner’s speech. ‟It really was a perfect week for me.”
The new world No. 18 dominated the match right from the start. Her hard-hitting and powerful baseline game put the top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka permanently under pressure. The 26-year-old world No. 1, who has reached four of the past five finals, never got going and had to be content with the runner’s up spot – like in 2021, 2022 and 2023. ‟I didn’t play my best tennis on the important points and in the end Jelena was simply brutally good,” said the three-time Grand Slam champion. ‟I’ve lost a lot of close finals. Learn the lesson, move on – that’s my plan. I’ll try to do better next year.”
For Jelena Ostapenko, the triumph in Stuttgart was the crowning finale to an exceptional tennis week. En route to the final, she beat amongst others the US Open semifinalist Emma Navarro as well as Iga Swiatek, Porsche Friend in Poland and 2022 and 2023 Stuttgart winner. ‟I felt very confident from the very first day. I had this strange, but also good feeling, that something special could happen here,” said Ostapenko. ‟I reckon, I’ve earned it.” At the trophy ceremony, she was given the trophy and key for the Porsche Macan Turbo from Albrecht Reimold Member of the Executive Board Production and Logistics at Porsche AG.
Tournament Director Markus Günthardt was highly positive when reviewing the event. ‟33,000 spectators and tennis of the highest class – we are very satisfied,” he said and pointed to the excellent attendance in the Porsche Arena as well as the interest in the tournament’s overall sporting and emotion experience. Especially pleasing for him was just how good the concept has been received by the crowd and players alike. ‟It was a fantastic tournament week, and we have the feeling that we were able to provide added value, both tenniswise and atmospherewise. Anke Huber, the Operating Tournament Director, was also highly pleased with the standard of play saying, ‟Perhaps it was even the best tennis we’ve ever seen here.”
Aces for Charity – Porsche donates 30,000 euro for a good cause
Not only was the 48th Porsche Tennis Grand Prix a success, but also the Aces for Charity fundraiser which has been a fixture for many years at the long-standing Stuttgart tournament. Porsche has donated 100 euro to charitable organisations for every ace struck. Up until the final, a total of 199 outright service winners were sent down and Porsche rounded the sum up to 30,000 euro. The money has been divided up equally between the ‟Stiftung Agapedia” and the ‟Stuttgarter Kinderstiftung” foundations. The cheques were handed over before the final on Centre Court by Albrecht Reimold, Member of the Executive Board, Production and Logistics of Porsche AG. The money will go towards funding projects and facilities for children in the Stuttgart region. Ekaterina Alexandrova played a major part in increasing the donation as the semifinalist delivered a total of 36 aces.
Finals day started with a special cultural highlight as the Stuttgart Ballet, which is supported by Porsche, presented an excerpt from ‟Lost Room” choreographed by Fabio Adorisio. In brilliant movement language, the dancers from the world-famous company themed memories, imagination and transience on Centre Court.
Monday’s result
Centre Court
Final, singles
Jelena Ostapenko (LAT) vs [1] Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-1
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.
