Rybakina Halts Swiatek, Faces Kostyuk in Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Final

Elena Rybakina triumphed over defending champion Iga Swiatek on Saturday, halting Swiatek’s 10-match winning streak at the Stuttgart clay-court tournament and advancing to the final.

Rybakina, seeded fourth, clinched the semi-final with a score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, effectively stunning Swiatek, the world number one from Poland, who had won the last two Stuttgart titles.

In the final, Rybakina will face Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, who overcame Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 in the other semi-final match on Saturday.

With this victory, Rybakina, who now leads her head-to-head record with Swiatek 4-2, will compete in her fifth final of 2024 on Sunday.

“It was always going to be a challenging match,” Rybakina remarked about playing Swiatek. “My serve was crucial at key moments and I stayed aggressive, fighting for every point.”

“I’m thrilled to have won such a closely contested match and to display strong performance,” she added.

Interestingly, winners of the Stuttgart tournament, which is sponsored by a German automobile company, are awarded a car. Rybakina humorously noted that the prize would not be particularly useful for her as she does not have a driver’s license. The 24-year-old has already won titles this season in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi, with second-place finishes in Doha and Miami.

Marta Kostyuk’s victory over Vondrousova took just one hour and 35 minutes. This win followed a tough three-set victory against US Open champion and world number three Coco Gauff the previous day.

Kostyuk, the world number 27, reflected on her career progress, saying, “Not many people realize I began my career 0-14 against top 10 players, so I’m really trying to catch up.”

“These wins are against some of the best players from the last year, and it’s incredible to beat them all. I’m also hoping to win a Grand Slam for myself one day,” she added.

The 21-year-old Ukrainian will be playing in her second final of the season, having been the runner-up at the San Diego Open in March. It will be her third career final, following her first WTA title win in Austin last season.