Jelena Rybakina Claims Stuttgart Tennis Title, Succeeds Swiatek as Champion

Jelena Rybakina won the tennis tournament in Stuttgart and is the successor to last year’s winner Iga Swiatek. In the final she gave the unseeded Marta Kostjuk hardly a chance.

Former Wimbledon champion Jelena Rybakina won the clay court tennis tournament in Stuttgart for the first time. The world number four deservedly prevailed 6:2, 6:2 against the unseeded Ukrainian surprise finalist Marta Kostyuk in the final of the indoor event on Sunday. She won the final in just 69 minutes.

Just as cool as in her strong performance against outsider Kostjuk, the Kazakh appeared relatively calm after converting the match point to win the title. “It was an incredible week,” said the 24-year-old after her well-deserved success in the one-sided final. Smiling, she held a colorful bouquet of flowers in her hand. For the first time and as the successor to the Polish tennis star Iga Swiatek, Rybakina entered the winners’ list of the brilliant tournament.

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Rybakina succeeds Swiatek

The 2022 Wimbledon winner presented herself strong and self-confident in front of 4,200 spectators in the sold-out hall. Right at the start she was ranked 27th in the world rankings. the serve. The 24-year-old Kazakh mostly dominated her own service games. Kostyuk was often under considerable pressure. A second break to 5:2 made the first set a clear affair.

The 21-year-old Kostyuk often had no chance if Rybakina’s first serve came. She immediately gave her opponent the 1-0 lead again. Kostjuk was unable to take advantage of Rybakina’s only weaker service game in the middle of the second set. Rybakina’s victory was convincing. “Rybakina played the best tennis this week,” said the tournament’s sporting director, former world-class player Anke Huber, before the final. Tennis star Iga Swiatek also felt Rybakina’s power on Saturday. After her two titles in 2022 and 2023, Swiatek lost in the semifinals against Rybakina for the first time in Stuttgart.

Ukrainian Marta Kostjuk (right) congratulates Jelena Rybakina (left) on the title after the Stuttgart final IMAGO IMAGO / Michael Weber

Kostyuk reminds us of the war in Ukraine

The unseeded Kostjuk had defeated three top ten players in a row on the way to the final, including the Czech Wimbledon winner Marketa Vondrousova in the semifinals. In the first round, the Swabian Laura Siegemund narrowly lost out to Kostjuk. But she mostly had no chance against Rybakina, who was playing so well. Kostyuk said she was tired after her long matches over the past few days. Nevertheless, she is proud. “It’s been an incredible year for us so far,” she explained to her team.

After losing the final, she also reminded again that the Russian war of aggression against her homeland Ukraine is not over. “It’s a very difficult time and it will continue to be a difficult time. I don’t want anyone to forget it,” said the 21-year-old after the game. Kostyuk was happy to see Ukrainian flags in the hall and also sent a message to her compatriots at the award ceremony. “Honor to Ukraine,” she said, Kostyuk explained later at the press conference. She said that before the war to Ukrainians who don’t live in their homeland. It has become more common since the war. She thinks it’s important to show appreciation for Ukraine and everything the nation has been through.

2024-04-21 13:31:00
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