Elena Rybakina clinched her third title of the season on Sunday with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 victory over Marta Kostyuk from Ukraine in the Porsche Grand Prix final.
Ranked fourth in the world, Rybakina showed her prowess by saving all three break points against her and capitalizing on four out of six chances to secure the win in just over an hour.
This triumph marks Rybakina’s 26th victory on the tour this year, leading in the total number of wins so far.
Adding to her successes in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi earlier in the season, this victory in Stuttgart is particularly noteworthy as it expands her repertoire to include clay courts, with previous wins in Rome in 2023 and Bucharest in 2019.
Kostyuk, ranked 27th, faced an uphill battle from the outset as Rybakina swiftly broke her serve and dominated the first set in a mere half-hour.
Despite her commendable journey to the final, which included defeating three top-10 players—Zheng Qinwen, Coco Gauff, and Wimbledon champion Markéta Vondroušová—Kostyuk found herself unable to overcome Rybakina’s formidable play. She saved five match points against Zheng in the round of 16.
Although this was Kostyuk’s third appearance in a final, having claimed her first title in Austin last year and finishing as the runner-up in San Diego last month, she couldn’t quite clinch the win this time.
