Rybakina Rolls Muchova for Second Stuttgart Title

By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, April 19, 2026
Photo credit: Porsche Grand Prix Facebook

Elena Rybakina passed her driver’s test behind the wheel of a Porsche she won two years ago.

Today, Rybakina was in the driver’s seat in her Stuttgart final return.

The top-seeded Rybakina rolled Karolina Muchova 7-5, 6-1 to capture her second Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart championship—and the keys to her second Porsche.

Rybakina converted four of eight break points and never trailed in this final.

“I want to say a big thanks to my team, without you guys it wouldn’t be possible,” said Rybakina. “Thank you for always pushing me to do better and improve every day.”

It is the eighth straight Stuttgart win for Rybakina, who raised her career finals record to 13-12.

Capturing her fifth career clay-court championship propels Rybakina into elite company. Rybakina is just the fourth active woman to win five WTA-level championships on multiple surfaces joining Venus Williams, Iga Swiatek and Elina Svitolina in attaining a feat that has eluded even world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

“It’s an amazing tournament, we love coming back here,” Rybakina said. “It really feels like home and you just want to come back every year.

“Super happy for the second win here in Stuttgart and this beautiful car.”

Today’s final was deadlocked 5-all when Rybakina raced through seven straight games, putting Muchova firmly in the rear-view mirror.

Australian Open champion Rybakina won her second title of the season, improving to a WTA-best 25-5 in 2026 as she moves to within 2,395 ranking points of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who skipped Stuttgart.

This spirited title run saw Rybakina save match points winning a marathon 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(6) quarterfinal victory over former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez before she stopped Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1, in Saturday’s semifinals.

The 26-year-old Rybakina, who beat Iga Swiatek and Marta Kostyuk back-to-back to claim the 2024 Stuttgart crown, has now won five of her last six finals.

Today, Doha champion Muchova rallied from 2-5 down to level the opening set at 5-all.

Then Rybakina held at 15 for 6-5 and immediately applied pressure in the 12th game. Rybakina converted her third set point to build a one-set lead.

Swinging freely, the 6′ Kazakh tore through five games in a row to start the second set. Muchova held to halt the bagel. Rybakina ripped through eight consecutive points on serve to close her 13th career championship in 78 minutes.

When she won the Porsche in 2024, Rybakina did not yet have her driver’s license.

Now, she’ll have a pair of Porsches parked in her garage as she continues her drive toward the top spot.