PREVIEW Berlin Ladies Open WTA Semifinals: Sabalenka faces former Wimbledon Champ, Wang continues dream run

This Saturday, June 21, the semifinals of the WTA 500 Berlin Ladies Open will take place, with World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka headlining the day as she aims for a spot in the final. However, she'll face a tough challenge against a former Wimbledon champion who seems to be rediscovering her best form.

In the other semifinal, two names not many expected to see at this stage will face off. Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova comes in as the favourite after several big wins on her way here—including one against World No. 3 Jessica Pegula. She’ll face the quiet but dangerous qualifier Xinyu Wang, who knocked out none other than Coco Gauff.

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka narrowly survived an epic battle in the quarterfinals against No. 11 Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh appeared on the verge of a huge comeback after overturning a one-set deficit and forcing a third-set tiebreak. The 2022 Wimbledon champion had four match points but failed to convert any, allowing Sabalenka to escape what seemed like a lost match with a final score of 7–6(8–6), 3–6, 7–6(8–6).

Vondrousova, for her part, has been out of the spotlight for some time, but seems to have returned to top form following a long injury layoff. At the French Open—her first tournament in four months—she reached the third round before falling in three sets to No. 3 Pegula. This week in Berlin, she’s claimed impressive wins over Madison Keys (No. 6), Diana Shnaider (No. 12), and Ons Jabeur (No. 61).

Currently ranked No. 164, Vondrousova looks to be in excellent shape ahead of her Wimbledon comeback and has every reason to believe she can upset Sabalenka. If the Czech is physically fit, she’ll have her chances against the Belarusian, who just escaped a near-defeat. Their head-to-head favours Sabalenka slightly at 4–3 (1–0 on grass).

Liudmila Samsonova (No. 20) has spent the last few seasons consistently defeating top players, and while she’s yet to crack the top 10, the Russian has earned a reputation as a dangerous opponent. She already has a grass-court title this season from s’Hertogenbosch 2024 and has advanced through each round in Berlin as the underdog.

This week, she defeated former No. 1 Naomi Osaka (No. 57) and World No. 3 Jessica Pegula, both in straight sets. In the quarterfinals, she steamrolled Amanda Anisimova (No. 13) to reach her third WTA 500 semifinal of the year.

On the other side of the draw, Xinyu Wang (No. 39) is a name few would have expected to see at this stage. After coming through qualifying—where she defeated Ons Jabeur—she went on to beat Daria Kasatkina (No. 16) and Coco Gauff (No. 2), both in straight sets.

In the quarterfinals, she only played one set against Paula Badosa (No. 10) before the Spaniard retired due to injury with the score at 1–6. Wang hasn’t dropped more than three games in any set all tournament and continues to deliver one surprise after another in Berlin. Could there be one more shock left as she chases her first singles final on the WTA Tour?