Elena Rybakina believes her very fast and aggressive style of play makes it hard for Iga Swiatek to play her own game and dominate, which is probably a big reason why the Pole has struggled in her matches against the Kazakh so far.
On Saturday, world No. 4 Rybakina clinched her fourth win against Swiatek after upsetting the world No. 1 6-3 4-6 6-3 in the Stuttgart semifinal.
Last year, Rybakina played Swiatek for the first time since 2021 and very impressively won all of their three meetings from 2023. At the start of this year, Swiatek made some amends for the three losses to Rybakina in 2023 by beating the Kazakh in the Doha final. But in Stuttgart, Rybakina showed that what happened in Doha didn’t turn their rivalry around.
2022 Wimbledon champion Rybakina now has four wins in six meetings versus four-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek.
“I think it’s just style of the game. Iga, she moves really well and she likes to dominate in the rally. With me, it’s difficult because I play fast, I play flatter, and also like to move the opponent,” Rybakina explained.
“So it’s kind of, I think, a matchup where we are both pushing each other, both trying to dominate in the point. So I think of course also my serve helps a lot. That’s why some matches I win; some matches…
