Elena Rybakina, the former world No. 3 and 2022 Wimbledon champion, ended a 13-month title drought by clinching her ninth career WTA singles title at the 2025 Internationaux de Strasbourg, a WTA 500 clay-court event, on May 24, 2025. The fourth-seeded Kazakh defeated No. 8 seed Liudmila Samsonova in a gripping final, 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-1, in two hours and 13 minutes, securing her first championship since the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. The victory, worth $164,002 and 500 WTA ranking points, propelled Rybakina to No. 11 in the PIF WTA Rankings, boosting her confidence ahead of the French Open, where she faces qualifier Julia Riera in the first round, per wtatennis.com and sportskeeda.com.
Dominant Performance Despite Second-Set Drama
Rybakina, who entered Strasbourg ranked No. 12 after slipping from the top 10 in April 2025, showcased her aggressive baseline game and formidable serve, firing an ace to seal the match, per The Athletic. She dominated the first set 6-1, winning five consecutive games with 44 winners across the match, compared to Samsonova’s 22, per wtatennis.com. The second set saw Samsonova fight back, capitalizing on Rybakina’s errors, including a double fault, to lead 5-3. Despite squandering three set points and failing to serve out the set, Samsonova dominated the tiebreak 7-2, forcing a decider, per tennisworldusa.org. Rybakina regained control in the third set, dropping just one game to secure the title, demonstrating resilience after a 0-2, 15-40 deficit in her semifinal against Beatriz Haddad Maia, per The Athletic.
Challenging Path to the Final
Rybakina’s Strasbourg campaign began with a first-round bye, followed by a swift 6-1, 6-3 win over China’s Wang Xinyu in 64 minutes, where she saved both break points faced and hit six aces, per Reuters. She then defeated Magda Linette 7-5, 6-3, reaching her second Strasbourg semifinal (first in 2020), with improved serving and confident groundstrokes, per @TheTennisLetter on X. The semifinal against No. 9 seed Haddad Maia was a grueling 2-hour, 46-minute battle, ending 7-6(7), 1-6, 6-2, as Rybakina won six straight games in the third set, per wtatennis.com. Her ability to navigate tight matches highlighted her return to form after a lackluster clay season, with third-round exits in Madrid and Rome, per sportskeeda.com.
Overcoming Samsonova’s Head-to-Head Edge
Samsonova, ranked No. 19, held a 4-1 head-to-head advantage over Rybakina, with all prior matches on hard courts, per wtatennis.com. Rybakina’s lone win came at the 2024 Abu Dhabi Open, and she flipped the script on clay, leveraging the slower surface to counter Samsonova’s pace and exploit her 36 unforced errors, per tennisuptodate.com. Samsonova, who reached her first final since the 2024 ’s-Hertogenbosch WTA 250, had upset Paula Badosa and Danielle Collins en route, but her erratic play in the third set, coupled with Rybakina’s 70% first-serve point win rate, proved decisive, per sportskeeda.com and tennisworldusa.org.
Confidence Boost for Roland Garros
The Strasbourg title, Rybakina’s fourth on clay (2019 Bucharest, 2023 Rome, 2024 Stuttgart), marks a significant turnaround after a challenging 2025 season marred by coaching controversies involving banned coach Stefano Vukov, who continued to advise her despite a WTA suspension, per The Athletic. Rybakina’s decision to accept a wildcard into Strasbourg, following a 2-2 clay record in Madrid and Rome, proved astute, as she regained momentum, per motorcyclesports.net. Her post-match comments thanked the tournament director for the last-minute entry, saying, “Really happy to be back,” per @TheTennisLetter on X. With a 2024 French Open quarterfinal to defend, this win positions her as a dark horse in Paris, per qazinform.com.
Fan and Analyst Sentiment
Fans on X celebrated Rybakina’s triumph, with @sebsharfam2 noting her “quite good” performance despite errors against Wang, and @TennisChannel praising her “grand return” to Strasbourg, where she was a 2020 finalist, per. Analysts, like Sportskeeda’s Aman, predicted Rybakina’s edge due to her composure and power, forecasting a three-set win, which proved accurate, per sportskeeda.com. The victory, broadcast on Tennis Channel and Sky Sports, sets the stage for an intriguing French Open campaign, with Rybakina’s serve and aggression poised to challenge top seeds, per motorcyclesports.net.
