Elena Rybakina Sails Through to Victory at 2024 Porsche Grand Prix
Rybakina battled Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in the final.
Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, 24, defeated Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, 21, to win the Women’s Singles title at the 2024 Porsche Grand Prix in Stuttgart, Germany (a WTA 500 event). The score in the final was 6-2 and 6-2 in favor of Rybakina.
This was the third match Kostyuk and Rybakina have played against each other on the WTA Tour - with both players having won a prior meeting. However, this was the first match they’ve played on a clay court. Today’s victory is the third title Rybakina has won on the 2024 WTA Tour and the eighth title of her career in single’s competition. She has now won more titles (3) and reached more finals (5) than any other player during the 2024 season. And finally, this is third title she has claimed at a clay court event.
Heading into this tournament, Rybakina was ranked as the Number 4 tennis player on the 2024 WTA Tour, while Kostyuk carried the Number 27 designation. By winning in Stuttgart, Rybakina has received 500 points in the overall rankings. Meanwhile, Kostyuk has picked up 325 points. Regardless of the outcome, Kostyuk was destined to achieve a new career best ranking by making the final - Number 21.
Iga Świątek of Poland (No. 1) was the tournament’s two-time defending champion. This year though, she lost against Rybakina in the semifinals. Rybakina was the event’s fourth seed. Moreover, the event allowed the Top 4 seeds to advance directly to the second round.
Rybakina arrived in the final after winning against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia (No. 19), Jasmine Paolini of Italy (No. 14), and Świątek. She prevailed against the event’s top seed to win the title.
In the other half of the main draw, Kostyuk defeated Laura Siegemund of Germany (No. 84), Zheng Qinwen of China (No. 7), Coco Gauff of the United States (No. 3), and Markéta Vondroušová of the Czech Republic (No. 8). She knocked out the event’s third, fifth and sixth seeds to reach the final. Her win against Gauff was the first Top 5 victory of her career.
The revised rankings for the 2024 WTA Tour will be officially released on Monday, April 22. The tour will then play one tournament between April 23 and May 5: the Madrid Open in Madrid, Spain (a WTA 1000 event). The competition will be played on clay courts.
Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus (No. 2) is the reigning champion at the Madrid Open. She is looking to defend the title as the event’s second seed this year. While the Number 1 ranking won’t be in contention based on the tournament’s outcome, Sabalenka and Gauff will be competing for the Number 2 position.