Elena Rybakina backed up her huge win over Iga Swiatek in a big way as the fourth-seeded Kazakh ousted Marta Kostyuk in the Stuttgart final to win her first title at the German WTA 500 tournament and also her third title of the year.
After becoming the first player to beat world No. 1 and defending champion Swiatek in Stuttgart, Rybakina stormed past world No. 27 Kostyuk 6-2 6-2.
For Rybakina, this was her first deep Stuttgart run and it resulted in winning a title. Previously, the 24-year-old Kazakh suffered back-to-back Stuttgart round-of-16 exits in 2022 and 2023.
On Sunday, Rybakina was also playing her fifth final of the year. Now, Rybakina has won Brisbane, Abu Dhabi and Stuttgart this year, while she ended as runner-up in Doha and Miami.
Elena Rybakina© Getty Images Sport – Alex Grimm
How Rybakina defeated Kostyuk?
Right from the start, Rybakina made a statement as she broke Kostyuk to love in the opening game of the match. Up by an early break, Rybakina continued pressuring Kostyuk – she missed out on another break point in the third game but broke the Ukrainian again in the seventh game for a 5-2 lead before serving out for the first set in the following game.
Just like she started the match, Rybakina also started the second set by breaking Kostyuk in the opening game. After easily getting through her service games, Rybakina faced some pressure on her serve for the first time in the match in the sixth game. In that game, Kostyuk had three break points but Rybakina managed to save them all and open a 4-2 lead.
Elena Rybakina© Getty Images Sport – Alex Grimm
After failing to get the break back, Kostyuk’s game fell apart and Rybakina used that to break the Ukrainian again in the following game. Up by a set and two breaks, Rybakina struggled a bit to close out the match in the eighth game but she managed to realize her fourth championship point and complete her win just four games lost in the final.
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