Rybakina, Muchova Set to Battle for Stuttgart Title

Elena Rybakina, the 2024 Stuttgart champion, will face first-time finalist Karolina Muchova for the title at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix on Sunday.

The World No. 2 and top seed pulled away from 18-year-old Mirra Andreeva in Saturday’s second semifinal, 7-5, 6-1, to book her third final of 2026 and move level with Jessica Pegula for the most WTA match wins this season, with 24.

Rybakina snapped a two-match losing streak against Andreeva and has now won 14 of her last 16 matches against Top 10 players, with her only defeats in that span coming against Aryna Sabalenka in the Indian Wells final and Miami semifinal.

“First set, we were pretty even,” Rybakina said. “I had some opportunities to go up and didn’t take them, but I’m happy that in the important moments my serve worked and I stayed aggressive. In the second set, I felt more free to step in and play even more aggressively, so I’m happy with the performance.”

Rybakina, who won the Stuttgart title—and a Porsche Taycan Sport Turismo—in 2024, was asked if she had room in her garage for another Porsche. Sunday’s winner will drive away with a Porsche 911 Carrera S Cabriolet.

“Yes, I do,” she said, drawing laughter from the crowd. “It will be pressure, but let’s not think about that right now. The most important thing is to recover, and we’ll see what happens tomorrow.”

Muchova, making her first Stuttgart appearance since 2021, battled past Elina Svitolina in three sets. Just like Friday—when she earned her first win in seven meetings against Coco Gauff—Muchova overturned another lopsided head-to-head, having entered Saturday’s clash 0-3 against the Ukrainian.

Svitolina had been undefeated in deciding sets this season (6-0), but Muchova prevailed to improve to 8-1 in three-set matches. The win marked her 22nd of the season and her fifth against a Top 10 opponent.

Muchova leads the head-to-head with Rybakina 2-1, with all three of their previous meetings coming on hard courts. She most recently defeated the Kazakhstani in three sets in Brisbane earlier this season.