Elena Rybakina made a long-awaited return to the winners' circle after a hard-fought victory over Liudmila Samsonova in the Internationaux de Strasbourg showpiece.

Having failed to reach a final since her clay-court victory at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix last April, Rybakina sealed a ninth WTA title with a 6-1 6-7 (7-2) 6-1 win on Saturday. 

The tour's ace leader in previous seasons, Rybakina slammed 16 of her signature shot throughout the final, including one to convert her only championship point.

Rybakina's victory sets her up nicely for the upcoming French Open, where she will face Argentine qualifier Julia Riera in the opening round at Roland-Garros. 

"I'm really happy with the week, with the way I played these matches," Rybakina said afterwards. "It was not easy, but I think I'm on the right way, playing better each match.

"No matter the results of today, I played some tough matches, tough opponents [this week].

"Now I think that I have a little bit more confidence coming to Paris, and hopefully I can play as good as I played here, and even better."

TITLE NO.

Elena Rybakina captures her first title in over a year after defeating Samsonova 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-1! #IS25 pic.twitter.com/QqNY2qxn2H

— wta (@WTA) May 24, 2025

Meanwhile, at the Morocco Open, Maya Joint rounded off a perfect week in Rabat by clinching the single's title with a straight-sets victory over Jaqueline Cristian. 

Just 24 hours after winning the first WTA Tour doubles title of her career alongside Oksana Kalashnikova, she emerged with a 6-3 6-2 win over Cristian in the final. 

The Australian lost just one set throughout the week across both formats, and she will take her clay-court winning streak into the second grand slam of the season next week. 

Joint will make her main-draw debut at the French Open in a rematch against compatriot Alja Tomljanovic, who she beat in the semi-finals on her way to the title in Morocco.