Ostapenko beats Swiatek again and reaches Stuttgart semifinals with Sabalenka

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) — Jelena Ostapenko continued her dominance over Iga Swiatek by beating the world No. 2 on her favorite surface.

Ostapenko won 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals of the clay-court Porsche Grand Prix on Saturday to improve her head-to-head record against the four-time French Open champion to 6-0.

“Every time I step on the court with her it’s another battle, I’m ready for it,” said Ostapenko, the 2017 champion at Roland Garros. “Even if I don’t feel great on the day, I will just fight and leave it all on the court.”

The Latvian player, ranked No. 24, previously beat Swiatek four times on hard-courts and once on grass.

“I tried to be aggressive today and take time away from her because when she has time, she's playing very well,” Ostapenko said.

In the semifinals, she will play Ekaterina Alexandrova, who ousted third-seeded Jessica Pegula 6-0, 6-4.

No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka finally played her first match in Stuttgart and beat former doubles partner Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-1.

Sabalenka got a bye through the first round and a walkover in the second.

“Never happened before that I play the first match on Saturday,” she said.

She will next face No. 6 Jasmine Paolini, who knocked off No. 4 Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-3 for the first time in three career meetings.

Paolini earned her first top-10 win of the year.

Sabalenka leads Paolini 4-2 on tour.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Jasmine Paolini, of Italy, reacts after her game against Coco Gauff, of the U.S., not pictured, in their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the WTA tour in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka takes a photo of the baseline as she plays Belgium's Elise Mertens, during their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the WTA tour in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Lithuania's Jelena Ostapenko in action against Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the WTA tour in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Lithuania's Jelena Ostapenko in action against Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the WTA tour in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Poland's Iga Swiatek in action against Lithuania's Jelena Ostapenko during their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the WTA tour in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Poland's Iga Swiatek in action against Lithuania's Jelena Ostapenko during their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the WTA tour in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Lithuania's Jelena Ostapenko in action against Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the WTA tour in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Poland's Iga Swiatek after losing against Lithuania's Jelena Ostapenko during their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the WTA tour in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Lithuania's Jelena Ostapenko in action against Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the WTA tour in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

Lithuania's Jelena Ostapenko celebrates victory against against Poland's Iga Swiatek during their women's singles quarterfinal tennis match at the WTA tour in Stuttgart, Germany, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (Marijan Murat/dpa via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Tesla lost its crown as the world’s bestselling electric vehicle maker on Friday as a customer revolt over Elon Musk’s right-wing politics, expiring U.S. tax breaks for buyers and stiff overseas competition pushed sales down for a second year in a row.

Tesla said that it delivered 1.64 million vehicles in 2025, down 9% from a year earlier.

Chinese rival BYD, which sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, is now the biggest EV maker.

It's a stunning reversal for a car company whose rise once seemed unstoppable as it overtook traditional automakers with far more resources and helped make Musk the world's richest man. The sales drop came despite President Donald Trump's marketing effort early last year when he called a press conference to praise Musk as a “patriot” in front of Teslas lined up on the White House driveway, then announced he would be buying one, bucking presidential precedent to not endorse private company products.

For the fourth quarter, Tesla sales totaled 418,227, falling short of even the much reduced 440,000 target that analysts recently polled by FactSet had expected. Sales were hit hard by the expiration of a $7,500 tax credit for electric vehicle purchases that was phased out by the Trump administration at the end of September.

Tesla stock fell 2.6% to $438.07 on Friday.

Even with multiple issues buffeting the company, investors are betting that Tesla CEO Musk can deliver on his ambitions to make Tesla a leader in robotaxi services and get consumers to embrace humanoid robots that can perform basic tasks in homes and offices. Reflecting that optimism, the stock finished 2025 with a gain of approximately 11%.

The latest quarter was the first with sales of stripped-down versions of the Model Y and Model 3 that Musk unveiled in early October as part of an effort to revive sales. The new Model Y costs just under $40,000 while customers can buy the cheaper Model 3 for under $37,000. Those versions are expected to help Tesla compete with Chinese models in Europe and Asia.

For fourth-quarter earnings coming out in late January, analysts are expecting the company to post a 3% drop in sales and a nearly 40% drop in earnings per share, according to FactSet. Analysts expect the downward trend in sales and profits to eventually reverse itself as 2026 rolls along.

Musk said earlier last year that a “major rebound” in sales was underway, but investors were unruffled when that didn't pan out, choosing instead to focus on Musk's pivot to different parts of business. He has has been saying the future of the company lies with its driverless robotaxis service, its energy storage business and building robots for the home and factory — and much less with car sales.

Tesla started rolling out its robotaxi service in Austin in June, first with safety monitors in the cars to take over in case of trouble, then testing without them. The company hopes to roll out the service in several cities this year.

To do that successfully, it needs to take on rival Waymo, which has been operating autonomous taxis for years and has far more customers. It also will also have to contend with regulatory challenges. The company is under several federal safety investigations and other probes. In California, Tesla is at risk of temporarily losing its license to sell cars in the state after a judge there ruled it had misled customers about their safety.

“Regulatory is going to be a big issue,” said Wedbush Securities analyst Dan Ives, a well-known bull on the stock. “We're dealing with people's lives.”

Still, Ives said he expects Tesla's autonomous offerings will soon overcome any setbacks.

Musk has said he hopes software updates to his cars will enable hundreds of thousands of Tesla vehicles to operate autonomously with zero human intervention by the end of this year. The company is also planning to begin production of its AI-powered Cybercab with no steering wheel or pedals in 2026.

To keep Musk focused on the company, Tesla’s directors awarded Musk a potentially enormous new pay package that shareholders backed at the annual meeting in November.

Musk scored another huge windfall two weeks ago when the Delaware Supreme Court reversed a decision that deprived him of a $55 billion pay package that Tesla doled out in 2018.

This story has been corrected to show that BYD sold 2.26 million vehicles last year, not 2.26.

AP video journalist Mustakim Hasnath contributed to this report from London.

FILE - The Tesla logo is displayed at a Tesla dealership Thursday, Mar. 13, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)