A rainout the previous day created a packed Saturday schedule at the Korea Open, with both the quarterfinals and semifinals being held just hours apart.
World No. 2 Iga Swiatek handled the challenge with ease.
Seoul: Scores | Draws | Order of play
She opened against Barbora Krejcikova in what was expected to be a competitive quarterfinal. Instead, Swiatek dominated, blanking the former Grand Slam champion in the first set. After trading breaks early in the second, she broke for a 4-3 lead and closed out the match 6-0, 6-3 in 1 hour and 23 minutes.
Following a brief break, Swiatek returned to the court to face rising star Maya Joint in their first career meeting. Joint had upset No. 3 seed Clara Tauson in the quarterfinals earlier in the day, also by a score of 6-0, 6-3.
But the 19-year-old’s run ended in the semifinals. Swiatek, unfazed by the quick turnaround, delivered another commanding performance, winning 6-0, 6-2 in just over an hour to secure her spot in the final.
It was another case of Swiatek wasting no time in asserting control over her opponent, breaking at love in the opening game and needing just 25 minutes to bagel Joint in the first set.
Joint held serve to start the second set to finally get on the board, but Swiatek reeled off four straight games to go up a set and a double break. Joint showed further signs of life by converting a break point later in the set, but Swiatek won the final two games, closing out the match with a smash at the net.
Though she doesn’t know who she’ll face in Sunday’s final just yet, Swiatek is prepared for what lies ahead, taking confidence in the level she’s displayed so far this week.
“Let’s see who I play,” Swiatek said after the match. “But I’ll just focus on myself and on the goals that I had before and continue to do what I was doing throughout the tournament, because it’s been working.
“The final is supposed to be the toughest and it always produces a different kind of stress, so I’m just happy that I’ve already played solid matches here.”
It marks Swiatek’s fourth individual final of the season — all since June. She is 2-1 in finals this year, with titles at Wimbledon and the Cincinnati Open, and 24-5 overall in her career.
This will be her first Korea Open final.
Alexandrova defeats qualifiers Seidel, Siniakova to advance to Seoul final
Double duty proved more challenging for Ekaterina Alexandrova than it did for Swiatek, but the No. 2 seed took care of business, setting up a battle between the top two seeds in Sunday’s Korea Open final.
Alexandrova began her day with a 6-2, 6-3 quarterfinal win over German qualifier Ella Seidel in 1 hour and 14 minutes. While the scoreline suggests a routine victory, it was anything but.
The contest featured nine breaks of serve, including six in the opening set. Alexandrova faced 11 break points — more than she generated against Seidel — but the difference lay in how many each saved. Alexandrova saved eight of the 11 break points she faced, while Seidel saved just four of 10.
If the World No. 11 expected her path to another final in Seoul was going to get any easier in her next match, she was mistaken.
Her semifinal opponent, Katerina Siniakova — another qualifier — had defeated Suzan Lamens in the quarterfinals earlier in the afternoon. Like Seidel, Siniakova had made a strong run through the main draw after advancing through qualifying but saw her tournament come to an end at the hands of Alexandrova.
After trading holds in the first five games, Alexandrova struck first, breaking for a 4-2 lead. Siniakova responded immediately with a break of her own but was undone by a double fault on set point which handed the first set to Alexandrova.
The Czech regrouped quickly, breaking to start the second set and jumping out to a 2-0 lead. But from there, the match followed a familiar pattern.
Alexandrova went 3-for-6 on break points, while Siniakova — who began to cramp late — failed to convert any of her four chances. Alexandrova won the final six games to wrap up a 6-4, 6-2 victory in 1 hour and 40 minutes.
Sunday’s final will be Alexandrova’s third of the season — all at the WTA 500 level. She won the title in Linz and was runner-up in Monterrey.
It also marks her second Korea Open final, having defeated Jelena Ostapenko for the title in 2022.
“I’m happy to be back in the final here in Seoul,” Alexandrova said after the match. “It would be such an amazing achievement to win here again but tomorrow will be a super difficult match. The final is always different, so I’ll just go on the court and try to do my best, and let’s see how it goes.”
Top seeds Swiatek, Alexandrova set for a final showdown
For the first time since 2022, the Korea Open final will feature the top two seeds, with Swiatek and Alexandrova set to square off.
The two are no strangers to each other, having met seven times in their careers, including three times this season. Swiatek leads the head-to-head 5-2 and has won both of their 2025 meetings, most recently in straight sets at the US Open. Alexandrova’s last win in the series came in Miami last year
Sunday will mark their first meeting in a WTA final.
Both players bring plenty of finals experience. Swiatek owns a robust 24-5 career record in championship matches, while Alexandrova is 5-5.
With Swiatek’s advancement, it marks the fourth straight year the top seed has reached the final in Seoul.