Rybakina ends Swiatek’s 10-match Stuttgart win streak to make final

Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina reacts after winning her semi-final match against Poland’s Iga Swiatek at the Women’s Tennis Grand Prix WTA tournament in Stuttgart, southwestern Germany, on April 20, 2024. (Photograph: THOMAS KIENZLE / AFP)

Elena Rybakina ended defending champion Iga Swiatek’s 10-match winning streak in Stuttgart on Saturday to reach the final of the clay-court tournament.

The fourth seed came through their semi-final clash 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, stunning the Polish world number one who had captured the last two titles at the German tournament.

Rybakina now boasts a 4-2 career head-to-head record against the four-time Grand Slam winner and will be playing in her fifth final of 2024 on Sunday.

“Like always it was a very tough match,” Rybakina said of her opponent.

“My serve helped me a lot in important moments. I was fighting for the ball.

“It was such a close match. I’m really happy I managed to win and could show a good game.”

Winners of the Stuttgart tournament, sponsored by German automobile company Porsche, receive a car but Rybakina revealed the prize would be of little use.

“I actually don’t have a driver’s licence,” said Rybakina who has titles to her name this season in Adelaide and Abu Dhabi and runners-up spots at Doha and Miami.

Rybakina, 24, will face either Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk or Marketa Vondrousova, the Wimbledon champion from the Czech Republic, in Sunday’s final.

AFP