"Honestly me, Aryna Sabalenka & Elena Rybakina are the best players on tour" - Iga Swiatek

Iga Swiatek fell short in her pursuit of a third straight title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart, falling to Elena Rybakina in the semifinals on Saturday. Regardless, the World No. 1 doesn't think that her loss is cause for concern, as her opponent is among the top-3 players on the WTA Tour.

Rybakina took the opening set 6-3. Despite Swiatek clawing her way back by taking the second 6-4, the Kazakh held strong to close out the contest 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. The head-to-head between the duo is now 4-2 in Rybakina's favor, with Swiatek having beaten Rybakina in the final of the Qatar Open earlier this year.

At her press conference after the loss on Saturday, Iga Swiatek was asked if she found anything particularly difficult when facing Elena Rybakina. The four-time Grand Slam champion answered in the negative, saying that there isn't anything specific.

In general, Swiatek reckons she and Rybakina, along with World No. 2 Aryna Rybakina, are the best players on the WTA Tour at the moment, meaning their matches are always going to be a toss-up on the day.

"Well, there is no, like, one specific thing (that I find tricky when facing Elena Rybakina). I just think, you know, honestly probably me, Aryna, and her are the best players on tour, honestly. She had struggles with some injury, but every time she's healthy she is playing well," Swiatek said.

"So there are, you know, specific aspects of her game that are, you know, hard, but, you know, I wouldn't say there is, like, one specific. She's a good player. That's all," she added.

Rybakina has just gotten back from a major injury, which forced her to opt out of defending her title at Indian Wells in March. But she returned to form immediately at the Miami Open, reaching the final.

Sabalenka, meanwhile, won her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, but is yet to lift a trophy since then. Swiatek, meanwhile, has two titles this season -- at the Qatar Open and at Indian Wells.

It should be noted that Swiatek's glowing recommendation of Rybakina notwithstanding, Coco Gauff remains ahead of the 24-year-old in the WTA rankings for the moment. Gauff, the reigning US Open champion, reached the quarterfinals in Stuttgart, losing to Marta Kostyuk.

---

"Maybe I just need more practicing or something" - Iga Swiatek on her loss to Elena Rybakina

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart 2024 - Day Six

At the press conference, Iga Swiatek was also asked if she thinks Elena Rybakina is putting her under too much pressure on service games, a claim the World No. 1 denied.

Swiatek, though, admitted that there's a considerable quality gap between their service games, adding that she needs to get more serving practice to close that down.

"I wasn't feeling like a lot of pressure. Maybe a little bit in the third set, but still I think at the beginning the reason was kind of in me, not on the outside. Yeah, I doubted my serve a little bit in third set, and I'll try to not, like, have situations like that," Iga Swiatek said.

"But for sure it wasn't easy to see, you know, her winning her service games pretty easily and me, like, struggling basically on every game. I think at the end, you know, it also made a difference, but, you know, I was trying to get better. You know, maybe I just need more practicing or something," she added.

Elena Rybakina next takes on Marta Kostyuk in the final of the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, is slated to be in action next at the Madrid Open next week.