Elena Rybakina clinched her third title of 2024 by beating an emotional Marta Kostyuk 6-2 6-2 to win the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart.
The Kazakh fourth seed broke at love in the opening match and reached the first set, breaking again to make it 5-2, then holding on at love.
Kostyuk had no answer and when her opponent broke her serve again in the first game of the second set, the unseeded Ukrainian cut a forlorn figure as she fell to her knees.
Rybakina, who beat world number 1 and winner of the last two titles, Iga Swiatek in the semi-finalshowed no mercy and Kostyuk only forced break points on her during the match as she trailed 3-2 in the second set.
If there was to be a comeback, it was Kostyuk’s chance, but the 21-year-old looked on the verge of tears as she failed to capitalize on three break points, constantly looking on with frustration with his coach in the crowd.
Marta Kostyuk sometimes appeared desperate during her defeat against Rybakina
After holding her serve, Rybakina broke again to make it 5-2 and let her serve for the match. After hitting 10 aces in her victory against Swiatek, she didn’t need them to brush aside Kostyuk.
Speaking after the victory, she said: “Thank you very much. I want to congratulate Marta on a great tournament. You are really playing amazing. I hope we play many more finals.
“Of course I want to thank my team. My coach Stefano and also the president of the Kazakhstan federation for their support. Thank you very much, it means a lot.
“Of course, the crowd, it was an incredible week. It was nice to play every match here and fight. Your energy gives a lot during these tough matches, so thank you very much.
“I want to thank everyone for this great tournament, everyone who made this possible. It’s an incredible tournament and I really can’t wait to come back next year.”
Rybakina adds the Stuttgart title to her victories at the Brisbane International and Abu Dhabi Open this year and will now turn her attention to the Madrid Open, which will be broadcast live on Sky Sports all next week.
For Kostyuk, it was his second final defeat in 2024 after losing the deciding match at the San Diego Open in March.
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