Jelena Ostapenko ended a sterling week with her fifth career WTA singles title, as the Latvian cruised past Veronika Kudermetova of Russia 6-0, 6-4 to claim the crown at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Saturday night.
Ostapenko eased to victory after 65 minutes of play and is now projected to rise in the rankings from No.21 to No.13 on Monday. Former World No.5 Ostapenko will return to the Top 20 for the first time since October 2018.
“I think I played really well today,” Ostapenko said on court, after the match. “In general, I’m really happy with the whole week, because it was very tough opponents I had to face every round.”
Winning ways: Ostapenko, the 2017 Roland Garros champion, defeated four of her fellow Grand Slam champions to reach the final: Sofia Kenin, Iga Swiatek, Petra Kvitova, and Simona Halep.
Swift rematch to come: Ostapenko and Kudermetova will face each other again later on Saturday, when they will be on opposing sides of the Dubai doubles final. Ostapenko is paired with Lyudmyla Kichenok, and Kudermetova is teamed with Elise Mertens.