Latvian tennis star Jelena Ostapenko pulled off a stunning upset on Monday, defeating world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets to win the WTA 500 title in Stuttgart.  The unseeded Ostapenko, ranked 24th prior to the tournament, delivered a dominant 6-4, 6-1 victory to claim her ninth career title and first clay court crown since her 2017 French Open triumph.

Ostapenko established her authority early in the final, breaking Sabalenka’s serve in the opening game and repeating the feat at the start of the second set. The aggressive start visibly rattled Sabalenka, who struggled to find her rhythm and showed signs of growing frustration throughout the match. Despite a minor slip on the clay, the Belarusian quickly assured officials she was uninjured, but her game never recovered.

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The Latvian completed the win on her first match point, securing her first WTA singles title since February 2023. It also marked her first win over Sabalenka in four meetings and capped a spectacular week in Germany that included a quarter-final victory over world number two Iga Swiatek and a semi-final triumph over Ekaterina Alexandrova.

With this victory, Ostapenko is set to rise six places in the WTA rankings, moving to world number 18. Meanwhile, Sabalenka remains winless in four finals in Stuttgart across five seasons, and continues her search for a clay court title since Madrid in 2023.