Rybakina and Samsonova will face each other in the Strasbourg final
Elena Rybakina and Liudmila Samsonova will play the final of the Strasbourg tournament, in France.
Rybakina, the tournament’s fourth seed, defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia (9) with scores of 7-6 (7), 1-6 and 6-2 in a match that lasted 2 hours and 46 minutes on Friday.
Rybakina hit eight aces, saved 8 of 11 break points, and managed to defend a set point in the first tiebreak.
Samsonova, the eighth seed, had an easier match against Danielle Collins, whom she defeated in the semifinal with a score of 6-4 and 6-2, in a time of 87 minutes. Samsonova achieved four aces and defended 5 of 7 break points.
Samsonova has won four of the five matches against Rybakina, who won the most recent encounter in three sets in the Abu Dhabi semifinals in 2024.
