Iga Swiatek admitted that Elena Rybakina was the better player in their Stuttgart quarterfinal but also didn’t want to give too much focus on the fact that Rybakina is a very tricky opponent for her, stating that she, Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka are “probably the three best players in the world.”
After beating Emma Raducanu to improve to a 10-0 lifetime in Stuttgart and come two wins away from winning the title, Swiatek exited the tournament in the semifinal after Rybakina handed her a 6-3 4-6 6-3 loss. Following the loss, Swiatek didn’t sugarcoat anything, acknowledging that the fourth-seeded Kazakh deservedly ended on the winning side.
“Well, she played better than me, obviously. It’s hard right now for me to analyze what specifically was better. For sure she served better. I didn’t serve well in the third set,” Swiatek said.
“Yeah, so that’s a shame, but at least I know what I can work on and be focused on that.”
Swiatek asked why Rybakina is such a tricky and difficult player for her
Rybakina, 24, now owns a 4-2 head-to-head against Swiatek. Since losing to Swiatek in their first meeting in 2021, Rybakina went 3-3 in her meetings against the Polish world No. 1. This year, Swiatek ended her…
