Elena Rybakina is one win away from clinching a 13th WTA title after reaching the final of the Stuttgart Open.
Rybakina advanced to the championship match after defeating Mirra Andreeva in straight sets, winning 7-5, 6-1, to beat the 18-year-old for the first time since 2023.
The Kazakh has enjoyed a fantastic season thus far, having won her second Grand Slam while also climbing to second in the world rankings.
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Her strong first three and a half months on the tour this season follow a successful end to her 2025 campaign, when Rybakina won the Ningbo Open as well as the WTA Finals.
She is in the best form of her life at the moment and will now take on Karolina Muchova in the Stuttgart final.
Elena Rybakina reflects on her progress since last season
Rybakina snapped a two-match losing streak in the head-to-head against Andreeva, with the most recent loss coming at the Indian Wells Open in 2025.
Asked in her post-match press conference what has changed since the Indian Wells defeat, Rybakina said: “Well, we’re talking about two different periods of time for me. Last year at the beginning of the year was very different.
“Another team, different coach. I wouldn’t say that we did good preparation, because I thought that it was not bad.
“But then coming to Australia, I got injured straightaway with the back, and then just overall I think it was a lot of new where I was trying to adapt, so it was not much consistency in what we were doing from daily work.
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“Now I think I found my rhythm, confidence game after winning some titles at the end of last season.
“So it is different, and I’m happy that I’m improving from one match to another, and we’re still trying to work on little details. Yeah, for now, everything has been going pretty well.”
Elena Rybakina previews her clash with Karolina Muchova
Discussing her next opponent, Muchova, Rybakina said: “Yeah, she’s really a great player, and she has really nice touch, hands.
“She can serve with very good placement, opening the court. So it’s going to be an interesting match.
“I think my goal is always try to stay aggressive, serve well, as I did today, and yeah, we’ll see what’s gonna happen.
“But definitely it’s the last match, and I want to give my best,” concluded Rybakina, who has a 2-1 losing record versus Muchova.
They clashed earlier this year in the quarterfinals of the Brisbane International, where the Czech star came out on top.
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