World No. 1 Iga Swiatek of Poland will face second-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus in a rematch of the 2022 WTA Stuttgart Grand Prix final.
Defending champion Swiatek advanced to her second straight final in the tournament after the third seed Ons Jabeur of Tunisia was forced to retire at 3-0 down in the first set due to a left calf injury in their semifinal on Saturday.
After chasing down a ball on the last point of the first game, Jabeur called a medical timeout and received treatment and tape on her calf. She continued for two more games but was visibly hampered in her movement and serves.
"The third point, I don't know what happened," Jabeur said. "I was really excited to play Iga today. It's always a fun match-up between us. I wish her the best luck for the final. I really tried to run, but Iga never makes it easy."
Sabalenka made the final for the third straight year with a 6-1, 6-2 victory in 58 minutes over unseeded Anastasia Potapova of Russia in their first career meeting.
"I think I was really focused and was playing really aggressive from the very first point," Sabalenka said. "I didn't give her much time and that's why the match finished like that quickly. But she's a great player, and I think in the future she's going to be a top player."
In Sunday's final, Sabalenka aims to make the third time lucky after back-to-back runner-up finishes in Stuttgart. In the last two years, she lost the finals to Ashleigh Barty of Australia in 2021 and Swiatek in 2022.
