Aryna Sabalenka and Ekaterina Alexandrova will play the first WTA grass court final of the season tomorrow at Libema Open 's-Hertogenbosch after seeing off Shelby Rogers and Veronika Kudermetova.
As has been pointed out since the semi-finals concluded, the final will see two players ironically who are banned from Wimbledon beginning the grass court season in the final.
Due to the role of Belarus in the invasion of Ukraine, they alongside Russia have been banned from Wimbledon so both will not head to the UK but with no points on offer anyway, they will benefit from their run in the Netherlands.
No.1 seed Sabalenka raced past Shelby Rogers in their semi-final, she survived a set point against the American but from there swept the second set to win 7-6(6), 6-0 in just over an hour and a half and it marks her second grass court final but her first since Eastbourne 2018.
It will be a first final on grass for Alexandrova who defeated her fellow Russian, Kudermetova who has been in superb form this season in a 6-3, 6-1 victory. It will likely be a close final too with both clashing on grass for the first time but at 2-2 in their head to head.
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.