This Week in Tennis: Rune Stuns Alcaraz in Barcelona

Rune upsets Alcaraz

Holger Rune upset home-crowd favourite Carlos Alcaraz 7-6(6), 6-2 to win the Barcelona Open on Sunday.

It’s the Dane’s first title since 2023 and fifth of his career.

Alcaraz was looking to win his second-straight clay-court tournament after capturing the title in Monte Carlo for the first time in his career last weekend. The reigning champion at Roland-Garros was attempting to win in Barcelona for the third time in his career (2022, 2023).

It was the second final of the season for the 21-year-old Rune, who was runner-up to Jack Draper at Indian Wells. He will jump into the ATP Top 10 ahead of the Madrid Open this week.

Read also: ATP Power Rankings - Who Will Fill the King’s Void on Clay?

Ostapenko Goes Giant Killer in Stuttgart

Jelena Ostapenko upset world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 6-1 to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.

It’s the ninth title of her career and first on clay since winning Roland-Garros in 2017.

Sabalenka entered the final on an eight-match win streak, but Ostapenko halted the streak and earned her first career win against Sabalenka in four matches.

Ostapenko also beat the tour’s best clay-courter Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals. As a result of her title run in Stuttgart, the Latvian jumps into the Top 20, ending up at No. 18 in the WTA’s updated rankings.

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Zverev wins third Munich title

Alexander Zverev might be getting on track right on time.

After an inconsistent start to the season, the top-seeded Zverev won his first title of the year, defeating Ben Shelton 6-2, 6-4 in Munich on Sunday. It’s the third time Zverev has captured the title in Munich (2017, 2018).

After opening his season by reaching the final at the Australian Open, Zverev had failed to advance past the quarter-final at any event until this week. He suffered early defeats both at Indian Wells and Monte Carlo, dropping his first match at each tournament. Zverev was also bounced in the round of 16 in Miami.

The 27-year-old will move back to No. 2 in the ATP rankings behind Jannik Sinner thanks to his victory Sunday and Alcaraz’s loss to Rune in Barcelona.

Read Also: Team Canada Holds Heads High Despite Billie Jean King Cup Loss

Dabrowski gets back on track

After a difficult start to the season, Canadian Gabriela Dabrowski and partner Erin Routliffe got back on track in Stuttgart, defeating Ekaterina Alexandrova and Zhang Shuai 6-3, 6-3 to claim their first title of the season together.

After reaching the semifinals at the Australian Open, the pair failed to advance past the Round of 16 in any other tournament this year, most recently dropping their opening match in Miami.

Read Also: Branstine Ready to Use Early Season Success as Stepping Stone

All winners from last week:

ATP 500 - Barcelona

• Men’s Singles: Holger Rune* (1/5) d. Carlos Alcaraz
• Men’s Doubles: Luke Johnson/Sander Arends

ATP 500 - Munich

• Men’s Singles: Alexander Zverev* (1/24) d. Ben Shelton
• Men’s Doubles: Sem Verbeek/Andre Goransson

WTA 500 - Stuttgart

• Women’s Singles: Jelena Ostapenko* (1/9) d. Aryna Sabalenka
• Women’s Doubles: Gabriela Dabrowski/Erin Routliffe

WTA 250 - Rouen

• Women’s Singles: Elina Svitolina* (1/18) d. Olga Dalinovic
• Women’s Doubles: Sabrina Santamaria/Aleksandra Krunic

* 2025 Titles/Career Titles

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