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Sloane Stephens has reached her first WTA singles final since the Abierto Zapopan Open in 2022, following her victory over Caroline Garcia.
On Saturday, the American star defeated world No. 23 Caroline Garcia with scores of 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinal of the 2024 edition of the Open du Rouen. Despite Stephens' victory, Garcia still leads their head-to-head 5-4.
Before her victory over Garcia, she defeated Peyton Stearns, Karolína Plíškova, and Yue Yuan. After the match, Stephens posted a couple of pictures on her Instagram feed to celebrate her victory.
“Catch me if you can” - Stephens captioned
Should Sloane Stephens lift the Open de Rouen trophy on Sunday, it will be her eighth WTA career singles title, which includes the 2017 US Open and the 2018 Miami Masters. The 31-year-old has also made notable appearances in finals throughout her career, including the 2018 French Open, the 2018 WTA Finals and the Canadian Open final in 2018.
Sloane Stephens will face Magda Linette in the final of the 2024 Open de Rouen
Following Stephens' victory over Caroline Garcia in the semifinal on Saturday, she will now be facing 32-year-old Pole Magda Linette in the final of the 2024 Open de Rouen.
Starting her season at the Brisbane International, the Open de Rouen is now the tenth tournament Stephens is competing in this season and she has won 14 matches and lost nine.
On the other hand, Magda Linette has struggled with form this season. She has competed in 11 tournaments so far and has had six first-round exits.
Linette kicked off her Open de Rouen campaign by defeating Elsa Jacquemot in the first round. In the second round, she defeated Natalija Kostić. Linette then defeated Dutch player Arantxa Rus in the quarterfinals to set up a semifinal tie with Anhelina Kalinina, whom she also defeated on Saturday with scores of 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.
Stephens and Linette have competed three times in the past, and the American has won all three of their meetings.
