Vondrousova ousts Sabalenka in Berlin, earns first win over a World No. 1

Marketa Vondrousova bested top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the Berlin Tennis Open semifinals on Saturday. It was Vondrousova's first win over a reigning World No. 1, and she reaches her first final since she won the 2023 Wimbledon championship.

Marketa Vondrousova has recovered some grass-court magic at Berlin Tennis Open by HYLO.

Vondrousova, the 2023 Wimbledon champion, defeated World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-4 in their semifinal meeting at Berlin on Saturday. The Czech Vondrousova needed 1 hour and 21 minutes to level their head-to-head at four wins apiece.

Berlin: Draws | Scores | Order of play

"I didn’t play for a long time," said Vondrousova, who missed three months of the season due to a shoulder injury. "I’m just happy to be back healthy, and so grateful to play these matches.

"When I saw the field here, I was like, ‘OK, let’s just try to win the first round,’ and then, you know, now this is happening."

The left-hander is now into her first final since she won the Wimbledon title nearly two years ago. Her opponent on Sunday will be a fellow unseeded player: either 2021 Berlin champion Liudmila Samsonova or Chinese qualifier Wang Xinyu.

Top win: Despite her previous successes against Sabalenka, this is the first time Vondrousova has beaten her while she was ranked World No. 1 in the PIF WTA Rankings. In fact, it is the Czech's first career win over any reigning World No. 1.

Vondrousova had previously been 0-3 against players who were ranked No. 1 at the time of their meetings: she had lost to Ashleigh Barty at 2020 Adelaide, and fell to Iga Swiatek at both 2023 Cincinnati and 2024 Roland Garros.

Another grass-court stunner: Vondrousova had only won two tour-level matches on grass at the start of the 2023 season, but that did not stop her from peaking at that year's Wimbledon, where she carved her way to the title ranked World No. 42.

Vondrousova has struggled with injury throughout her career, and after her latest shoulder woes, she started Berlin ranked No. 164. But this week in Berlin, the Czech once again summoned her best on grass.

Match moments: Sabalenka came into Saturday's showdown 7-0 in semifinals this year, but Vondrousova was prepared to upend that stat. Taking returns early, Vondrousova raced through the opening set without losing serve.

Sabalenka found a backhand winner off of a drop shot to take an early 2-0 lead in the second set, but Vondrousova broke back at love straight away. The Czech then found some incredible forehand winners to break for 5-4.

Serving for the match, Vondrousova quickly fell behind 0-40 and it appeared a twist was in store. But the left-hander regrouped and battled all the way back, closing out the win with her fourth ace of the day.

Vondrousova becomes the lowest-ranked Berlin finalist this decade, since the event returned to the WTA calendar in 2021. She surpasses Liudmila Samsonova, who won this title as a 106th-ranked qualifier.

More to come...

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