Jelena Ostapenko becomes first woman since Serena to beat No. 1 and No. 2 at same event on clay

It was a special week for Jelena Ostapenko at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix this year, as she powered her way to the ninth WTA title of her career—and her first in more than a year—at the indoor clay-court event.

But how she did it was even more special.

The big-hitting Latvian took out both of the Top 2 players in the world en route to the title: No. 2-ranked Iga Swiatek in the quarterfinals, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, then No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the final, 6-4, 6-1.

And with that, Ostapenko has become the first woman to beat both No. 1 and No. 2 at the same event on clay since Serena Williams achieved the feat at Madrid in 2012. That was the year it was held on blue clay.

In the Spanish capital that year, Serena routed No. 2-ranked Maria Sharapova in the quarterfinals, 6-1, 6-3, and then did the exact same thing to No. 1-ranked Victoria Azarenka in the final, 6-1, 6-3.

WOMEN TO BEAT WTA TOP 2 AT SAME EVENT ON CLAY:

• Gabriela Sabatini at 1989 Amelia Island (d. No. 2 Navratilova in SFs and No. 1 Graf in F)
• Steffi Graf at 1999 Roland Garros (d. No. 2 Davenport in QFs and No. 1 Hingis in F)
• Serena Williams at 2002 Roland Garros (d. No. 2 Capriati in SFs and No. 1 V.Williams in F)
• Justine Henin at 2003 Roland Garros (d. No. 1 S.Williams in SFs and No. 2 Clijsters in F)
• Svetlana Kuznetsova at 2009 Roland Garros (d. No. 2 S.Williams in QFs and No. 1 Safina in F)
• Serena Williams at 2012 Madrid (d. No. 2 Sharapova in QFs and No. 1 Azarenka in F)
• Jelena Ostapenko at 2025 Stuttgart (d. No. 2 Swiatek in QFs and No. 1 Sabalenka in F)

And there's more.

At No. 24, Ostapenko is also the second-lowest-ranked woman ever to beat both the No. 1 and No. 2 at the same event, on any surface, after Barbora Krejcikova, who was No. 30 when she did it in Dubai in 2023.

LOWEST-RANKED WOMEN TO BEAT WTA TOP 2 AT SAME EVENT (since WTA rankings began in 1975):

• No. 30 Barbora Krejcikova at 2023 Dubai (d. No. 2 Sabalenka in QFs and No. 1 Swiatek in F)
• No. 24 Jelena Ostapenko at 2025 Stuttgart (d. No. 2 Swiatek in QFs and No. 1 Sabalenka in F)
• No. 18 Serena Williams at 2007 Miami (d. No. 2 Sharapova in 4th Rd and No. 1 Henin in F)
• No. 17 Steffi Graf at 1998 Philadelphia (d. No. 2 Hingis in QFs and No. 1 Davenport in F)
• No. 17 Kiki Bertens at 2018 Cincinnati (d. No. 2 Wozniacki in 2nd Rd and No. 1 Halep in F)

Ostapenko is projected to bounce back into the Top 20 now after her run to the title in Stuttgart. She reached a career-high of No. 5 back in 2018.