“Ever lost a match for Porsche? Hurts” - Marta Kostyuk expresses regret over losing to Elena Rybakina in Stuttgart final with supercar up for grabs

Marta Kostyuk has expressed regret over losing to Elena Rybakina in the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix final, particularly because she missed out on the keys to the Porsche supercar reserved for the tournament champion.

Kostyuk received a 6-2, 6-2 beating at the hands of Rybakina in Stuttgart on Sunday, April 21. She was unable to break the Kazakhstani even once during the matchup and, in turn, was broken four times.

This was Kostyuk's second loss in the finals for the 2024 season as she went down to Katie Boulter in the summit clash at the San Diego Open in March. The recent loss, however, hurt the Ukrainian more as her opponent Rybakina drove home the Porsche Taycan 4S Sport Turismo.

Kostyuk suggested the same during her post-match press conference at Tennis Club Weissenhof, saying:

"I think it was more, like, have you ever lost a match for Porsche? That hurts. I mean, honestly when I lost the match in San Diego, it didn't hurt as much as today."

The new World No. 21 continued:

"This is the only tournament in the world when you win something in the final besides, you know, a title and the prize money. So of course this is something I really wanted, and yeah, I think whoever loses here in the final will understand me really well."

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Marta Kostyuk: "Of course it s**ks to lose in the final... but overall, obviously very proud of myself this week"

Marta Kostyuk

During the aforementioned press conference, Marta Kostyuk looked back on her Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2024 campaign positively despite the disappointing result on the last step.

"Well, yeah, of course it s**ks to lose in the final, especially a match like this. I couldn't produce a fight. You know, she was really on top today. Yeah, but overall, obviously very proud of myself this week," she said.

Kostyuk's journey to the final wasn't easy as she drew top-seeded players in Stuttgart. She began the week by defeating Germany's Laura Siegemund 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4 in the first round.

The 21-year-old then fought off fifth seed Zheng Qinwen in the second round with a 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 scoreline. Her next opponent was none other than World No. 3 Coco Gauff. She started against Gauff shakily but came out on top eventually with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) victory.

In the semifinals, Kostyuk bettered reigning Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-6(2), 6-2 to register her third win against Top 10 players at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix.