"Everyone who called Sabalenka 'real No. 1', start watching tennis more" - Tennis fans react to Iga Swiatek winning second straight Stuttgart title

World No. 1 Iga Swiatek successfully defended her Stuttgart Open title on Sunday, capping off a strong week by defeating World No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in the final.

Swiatek managed to outplay Sabalenka in a hard-hitting championship match, winning 6-3, 6-4. She had defeated the same opponent to lift the trophy in 2022.

Notably, this was Sabalenka's third consecutive finals loss in Stuttgart; she had been beaten by Ashleigh Barty in the 2021 summit clash.

Swiatek has now won two titles in 2023, and 13 overall in her career. She had previously defeated Jessica Pegula in the 2023 Qatar Open final to win the WTA 500 title in the Middle East.

Following the match, tennis fans took to Twitter to express their emotions. One fan suggested that anyone who called Sabalenka the "real World No. 1" instead of Swiatek should watch more tennis.

"Apology on knees to Queen Iga...Everyone who called Sabalenka "real no.1". And maybe start watching tennis more, to learn the difference between them," they wrote.

Another fan expressed a similar sentiment, saying that they would love to speak with the experts who predicted Sabalenka would oust Swiatek as World No. 1.

"I'd love to hear from those analysts who predicted Sabalenka to quickly snatch #1 from Iga," a tweet read.

Another user simply stated that Swiatek is the "Queen of Clay."

"Queen of clay," they wrote.

Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:

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"I'm really happy that we are so consistent and we can play so many amazing matches together" - Iga Swiatek on Aryna Sabalenka

Iga Swiatek in action at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart 2023.

Following her Stuttgart Open win, Iga Swiatek said that she wanted to thank her team for always making the right decisions despite it being a rollercoaster ride over the last few weeks.

"I'm so excited you could see after the match point. It's hard to even get my thoughts together," she said in her on-court interview. "I want to thank my team because you know guys it has been such an intense time for the last couple of weeks, tough decisions sometimes but I'm so happy that we're making the right decisions basically because of you."

Swiatek then congratulated her opponent Aryna Sabalenka on her incredible season. The Pole added she was very happy with their rivalry and that the fans were enjoying it too.

"Congrats Aryna for everything, you've had such an amazing season," the 21-year-old added. "I feel like the work you've been putting in has paid off, so huge congrats for that. I'm really happy that we are so consistent and we can play so many amazing matches together because I think the fans are enjoying it."