After Emma Raducanu was forced to withdraw in the semifinals of the Hana Bank Open after losing 4-6, 6-3, 3-0, top seed Jelena Ostapenko proceeded to her second final of the year. On Sunday, 2017 champion Ostapenko will compete for the crown against No. 24 Ekaterina Alexandrova.
A left glute ailment served as Raducanu's official retirement justification. The tragic accident put an end to the 19-year-encouraging old's streak, during which she had won three straight matches for the first time since winning the US Open in 2021.
Ostapenko and Raducanu ignited the match from the baseline in their first encounter on the tour. In the first set, Ostapenko held off Raducanu by saving three break points before breaking to take a 2-0 lead. But the advantage didn't last long. Raducanu soon broke back to put the set back on serve, and the early return pressure she applied would be the difference-maker for the rest of the set.
In each of Ostapenko's opening three service games, Raducanu forced the Latvian to a tiebreaker before winning at 4-4. After 53 minutes, Raducanu won the first set on her third set point as Ostapenko struggled to find consistent range from shot to shot.