Elena Rybakina thinks she knows why Aryna Sabalenka lost to Jelena Ostapenko in Stuttgart recently

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Aryna Sabalenka was looking to win her third title of the season when she traveled to Stuttgart for the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.

The Belarusian world number one had already won two titles in 2025, as Sabalenka won the Brisbane International and Miami Open tournaments earlier this year.

She looked in good shape to win a third when she reached the final of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, in Stuttgart.

It wasn’t to be, however, as she lost in straight sets, 4-6, 1-6, to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who clinched her first clay court title since winning the French Open eight years ago.

Speaking ahead of the Madrid Open, one of Sabalenka’s biggest WTA rivals gave her thoughts on why the 26-year-old fell to defeat in Germany.

Elena Rybakina thinks Aryna Sabalenka may have put ‘extra pressure’ on herself to win in Stuttgart

Appearing as a guest on the Iguales podcast, former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina gave her immediate reaction to Sabalenka’s loss.

“Ah she did?” said Rybakina.

“I didn’t know.”

The Kazakh star explained why the three-time Major champion may have struggled in the final.

“The example of Aryna [Sabalenka] it’s probably very frustrating to play so many finals and not win,” she said.

“Maybe this is some extra pressure she put on herself playing now.”

Sabalenka has now appeared in four of the last five finals in Stuttgart, but has yet to come away with the trophy.

Her general record in finals has also dipped, having won 57% (4-3) of her showpiece matches in 2024, compared to 40% (2-3) in 2025.

Rybakina then shared how she bounced back from tough defeats on the WTA Tour, advice that the Belarusian may well take on board.

“It’s not easy and it depends on the loss,” she said.

“Sometimes it’s such a close match, sometimes you lose easier, so it all depends on the match and how it went.

“Sometimes you finish the tournament, and there is another one coming up, so you are trying to forget it as soon as possible, but some losses are very tough to forget.”

Rybakina was then asked if any matches stick out to her as being ‘tough to forget’.

“The match I lost here against Aryna, it was the semi-final, I remember I was up, and I maybe had a break point or something, so I was actually very close to winning that match,” she said.

“Then we went to three sets and that was not an easy one, of course, and there are many matches like this, but this one came out just now in my mind.”

Rybakina eventually lost to Sabalenka in a third-set tiebreaker, 6-1, 5-7, 6-7, as she failed to advance to last year’s Madrid Open final.

Elena Rybakina loses again as top-ten hopes fade

There was a time not long ago that Rybakina was considered to be one of the best players in women’s tennis alongside Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek.

A Wimbledon champion in 2022 and an Australian Open finalist in 2023, the Kazakh certainly has the talent, but things haven’t quite worked out recently.

Rybakina has failed to reach the quarterfinals in any of her previous three WTA 1000 tournaments, suffering several shock defeats.

• 2025 Madrid Open (3R) – Elena Rybakina lost to Elina Svitolina
• 2025 Madrid Open (2R) – Elena Rybakina beat Bianca Andreescu
• 2025 Miami Open (2R) – Elena Rybakina lost to Ashlyn Krueger
• 2025 Indian Wells (4R) – Elena Rybakina lost to Mirra Andreeva
• 2025 Indian Wells (3R) – Elena Rybakina beat Katie Boulter
• 2025 Indian Wells (2R) – Elena Rybakina beat Suzan Lamens

Those defeats have seen her fall out of the world’s top ten, and Rybakina will likely be ranked 12th when the next set of rankings are released.

Once ranked third in the world, Rybakina will hope to rediscover her form of old before too long and begin her journey back to the top.

Rybakina is scheduled to return at the Italian Open, which begins on May 5.