Iga Swiatek defeated Elena Rybakina in straight sets on Saturday to clinch a third consecutive title at the Qatar Open. The world number one did not even have to take to the court on Friday, earning a semi-final walkover when opponent Karolina Pliskova withdrew because of a back problem.
That extra day's rest worked in her favour as Swiatek overcame a gritty challenge by world number four Rybakina to win 7-6(8), 6-2.
The 22-year-old Pole, who raced to her 12th consecutive match win in Doha after beating Rybakina, became the first player to capture a singles title at an event in three successive years since Serena Williams triumphed in Miami from 2013-15.
The win also improved her head-to-head record over the Kazakh to 3-2, having lost on all three occasions last year. Swiatek endured a slow start as she went 4-1 down in a roller-coaster opening set before slowly finding her groove to level things up at 4-4.