The stage is set for a mouth-watering clash at Stuttgart Open final. WTA World No.4 Elena Rybakina will lock horns with the dark horse Marta Kostyuk. 500 Ranking Points, $142,000 prize money and above all a lavish Porsche car is up for grabs for the winner.

Rybakina has become a household name in tennis. With some remarkable consistency across tour events, she’s no novice in the big stage. Kostyuk, on the other hand, is the lesser experienced, but always a looming threat.

Elena Rybakina vs Marta Kostyuk: Stuttgart Open (Final) Preview

Rybakina has started the year with a staggering 86% (25-4) win record. Aside from a shocking early exit in the Australian Open, she has looked defiant as ever. With 5 finals in 8 tournaments and dethroning world No.1 Iga Swiatek on clay, the Kazakh has asserted strong dominance this season.

Kostyuk, meanwhile, is on a top-10 slaying spree. With an improved defense and shot tolerance, she has taken giant steps in 2024 rankings. Her route to the final included scalps over Qinwen Zheng, Coco Gauff and Marketa Vondrousova. In the last 9 months, she owns a 7-3 record against players ranked in the WTA Top 10, which highlights her extremely high ceiling.

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Elena Rybakina vs Marta Kostyuk: Head-to-Head

Rybakina and Kostyuk have only met twice before and shared the head-to-head score.

• Adelaide 1 2023 R16 (H): Kostyuk won 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3
• US Open 2023 R1 (H): Rybakina won 6-2, 6-1

The sample size is not strong enough to conclude a significant matchup pattern, especially since they have never locked horns on clay.

Prediction: Elena Rybakina to reign supreme

Diving deep into the numbers, both Kostyuk and Rybakina have dropped three sets en route to the finals. Their wins haven’t been dominant, but they managed to hold their nerves in tricky phases. The Kazakh has consistently touched 9% mark for Ace rate, while Kostyuk has barely registered a significant number. Her double-fault count for the week is also nearly twice of Rybakina’s.The first serve success rate has remained in the early 60s for both women this week.

Sustained excellence has been Rybakina’s major concern this season, which explains the excess amount of 3 set matches for her. However, the silver lining here is that Rybakina has won all of her 11 deciding sets this year.

A redlining Rybakina would be a nightmare matchup for Kostyuk. Her big serve, attacking returns and flat and deep groundstrokes could penetrate Marta’s defense with ease. Making the most of her own long levers, Rybakina has also answered back to critics over her movement and defense.

Final Verdict: Elena Rybakina to win the final in straight sets with slightly under 20 games. She will look to register 7 aces at least while not allowing Marta to record more than 3.

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