Elena Rybakina clinches second career title in Hobart

Hobart, Jan 18
No.3 seed from Kazakhstan Elena Rybakina on Saturday defeated Zhang Shuai of China in straight sets to claim the second WTA singles title of her career at the Hobart International.

The 20-year-old Kazakh defeated 4th-seeded Zhang 7-6(7), 6-3 after one hour and 33 minutes of play.

Rybakina, ranked 30 in world rankings, has now won 30 of her last 39 matches on tour, a sequence which began with her run to her first-ever WTA singles title at Bucharest last July.

She is now projected to be ranked a career-high World No.26 in Monday's new rankings and will be seeded No.29 in her Australian Open main draw debut next week.