Back on top: Rybakina ends yearlong title drought in Strasbourg
No. 4 seed Elena Rybakina snapped a yearlong title drought on Saturday, posting a 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-1 victory over No. 8 seed Liudmila Samsonova to capture the WTA 500 Internationaux de Strasbourg title in France.
"I’m really happy with the week, with the way I played these matches," Rybakina said afterward. "It was not easy, but I think I’m on the right way, playing better each match."
Strasbourg: Draws | Scores | Order of play
Before this week, the former Wimbledon champion Rybakina had not reached a final since April 2024, when she claimed another clay-court title, the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.
But the World No. 12 made a long-awaited return to the winner's circle by besting the 19th-ranked Samsonova in Saturday's 2-hour and 13-minute final. The Kazakh now has nine career WTA singles titles, four of which have come on clay.
The tour's ace leader in previous seasons, Rybakina slammed 16 of her signature shot throughout the final, including one to convert championship point.
Paris beckons: The win sets Rybakina up nicely as she heads into the year's second Grand Slam, the French Open at Roland Garros. Seeded No. 12, Rybakina will meet Argentine qualifier Julia Riera in the opening round in Paris.
"No matter the results of today, I played some tough matches, tough opponents [this week]," Rybakina said. "Now I think that I have a little bit more confidence coming to Paris, and hopefully I can play as good as I played here, and even better."
Samsonova also had a good week in Strasbourg, making her first clay-court final. Seeded No. 19 in Paris, Samsonova will meet Egypt's Mayar Sherif in the opening round.
Rivalry turnaround: Samsonova dominated Rybakina in the early stages of their head-to-head, winning their first four meetings between 2021 and 2023. Rybakina at last got her first win over Samsonova in the 2024 Abu Dhabi semifinals.
Now Rybakina has made it two in a row with a victory over Samsonova in their first clay-court clash. It is only Rybakina's second Top 20 win of the year, following her defeat of Paula Badosa in Dubai.
Rybakina notched this win in a place where she has had previous success. Before this year, her most recent Internationaux de Strasbourg appearance came in 2020, when she finished runner-up to Elina Svitolina.
Match moments: In the Top 20 showdown, Rybakina breezed to a set-and-a-break lead at 6-1, 2-1, but her hopes of a quick win were dashed when Samsonova's return game picked up in the second set.
Samsonova cranked a backhand return winner to lead 5-3, and though she failed to serve out the set there, she garnered three set points at 6-5. Rybakina, though, was able to swat those away and line up a second-set tiebreak.
In the breaker, Samsonova used a rally forehand winner to take a commanding 4-1 lead and she held on from there to send the tilt into a third set.
However, it was Rybakina who stepped into her returns at the start of the decider, building an early 3-0 advantage. A Samsonova double fault gave Rybakina a second break at 5-1, and she closed out a dominant final set with one last ace.
"In the second set, I think Liudmila just played a little bit more aggressive," Rybakina said. "I actually had some opportunity to go up in the second set, but I didn’t take it.
"After that it was very close, and the tiebreak, she played better. Then in the third, I kind of went back to the tactics, and I was trying to stay aggressive, especially when I had some advantage."
Babos, Stefani grab doubles title: Earlier on Saturday, Timea Babos of Hungary and Luisa Stefani of Brazil squeaked to the Strasbourg doubles title.
Babos and Stefani defeated Guo Hanyu of China and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States 6-3, 6-7(4), [10-7] in a 1-hour and 52-minute doubles final. The champions saw a 3-0 second-set lead slip away but came back in the match-tiebreak to grind out the title.
It is the 27th career WTA doubles title for former WTA Doubles World No. 1 Babos. Stefani is up to 11 career WTA doubles titles.
