World No.5 Elena Rybakina captured her second title of the season after easing past No.14 Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-4 in the final of the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Sunday. Abu Dhabi is Rybakina's seventh career title on the Hologic WTA Tour and fourth on a hard court.
Seeded No.1 at a tournament for the second time in her career, Rybakina enjoyed a winning week in Abu Dhabi, which included wins over Danielle Collins, Cristina Bucsa and No.8 seed Liudmila Samsonova.
"I was coming to this week without expectations because I had some issues in Melbourne, so we needed some time to get back on court," Rybakina said. "I was just trying to get as many matches as I can. Really proud about this week. With every match I felt more confident."
Rybakina moved to 11-2 on the season, having won her first title of the year in Brisbane last month. She is tied with Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka for the second-most wins on tour behind Jelena Ostapenko's tour-leading 13 wins.