2 weeks Ago By Yasmin Syed
Aryna Sabalenka has confirmed that she splashed the cash after suffering defeat in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final. The world No. 1 has now finished runner-up four times in Stuttgart, narrowly missing out on winning a Porsche every time.
Following her straight-set loss to Jelena Ostapenko in this year’s championship match, Sabalenka joked that she would buy her own car . And the 26-year-old has followed through on her promise. Arriving at this week’s Madrid Open, Sabalenka revealed that she ordered herself a purple Porsche, admitting she was “tired of losing” in the Stuttgart final.
Sabalenka was the runner-up in Stuttgart three years running from 2021 to 2023, losing to the world No. 1s at the time - Ash Barty and Iga Swiatek . When she returned to the tournament this year, she joked that she could finally lift the trophy, being the world No.
1 this time. But she failed to get over the line again, this time suffering a one-sided 6-4 6-1 defeat to Jelena Ostapenko, who received a brand new Porsche car and got to drive it on the court. During her runner-up speech, Sabalenka told her opponent: “Well done and enjoy driving this beautiful car! I’m glad I can afford this car.
After this final, we’re gonna order one because I guess this is the only way for me!” And the three-time Grand Slam champion has done just that, putting in an order for a brand new Porsche before arriving in Madrid for her next tournament. “I did order my car. I think we are going to [get] a GT RS,” the top seed told Tennis Channel.
“Purple, purple colour. Cool car. You know what, I’m so tired of losing in the finals so I decided I’ll go for the craziest car there is! It’s going to be driving fast in Miami.
” According to the Porsche website, one of the newest models - the 911 GT3 RS - retails from £192k. The car has adjustable front wings and a rear wing, as well as a drag reduction system based on similar principles used in Formula One racecars. Sabalenka enjoys F1 and her boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis, owns Oakberry, the Acai company which sponsors Williams.
And she’ll be able to get a taste of being a racing driver in her new car. The Belarusian star hopes to avoid another heartbreaking defeat at the Madrid Open, where she is a two-time former champion. Sabalenka blew three championship points in last year’s final, losing to Swiatek, and will be keen to get her hands on the trophy again.
Ahead of the tournament, she said: “That match was, yeah, it was a ball buster, and I really enjoyed playing, it was very intense, very long. “If I can play like that in every match on clay, I think, yeah, I have big chances to perform well on the clay court season this year. “That was an amazing match, even though I lost it, and I was really upset with the result.
But, yeah, still I was like, this is like nothing I can be upset with, to be honest. I did my best there, and she just outplayed me.”.
