But the 36-year-old, who was ranked No. 168 and needed a wildcard to enter the Claro Open Colsanitas in Bogota, won the 600th match of her career on the way to capturing the title without dropping a set.
Arruabarrena will be looking to win the title for the second time, her first triumph on the WTA circuit having come at the same event five years ago.
"I'm very happy and emotional", said Schiavone.
"[It] was a disaster match, but winning was the most important thing".
Schiavone, whose sole grand slam victory came at Roland Garros in 2010, showed all her trademark grit to save four set points against the fourth seed in the second set.
The Swede had a 4-2 lead in set number 2 but Schiavone used all of her experience to bounce back and bring the match home in straights.
Schiavone and Arruabarrena have never met before. That athlete may not always win the highest category tournament that week, but perform the best compared to their recent playing history.
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We did that at Stamford Bridge when we played with 11. You could see them all looking a bit upset. They are phenomenal on the counter-attack.
"I'm not thinking about retirement", the Italian said after the match, according to the WTA website.
The 2012 champion defeated Sara Sorribes Tormo in three sets to book her spot in her third career final, and first clay final since she won the title in Bogota in 2012.
It's the 36-year-old's first WTA title since the Rio Open, which she won in February of last year, and her eighth overall.
"It was a very good tournament for me here in Bogota".
"Play in this altitude is difficult, in the second set, it was hard because she started to play well", said Schiavone.
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