Elena Rybakina better have a big garage! She earned herself
another Porsche after defeating
Karolina Muchova 7-5, 6-1 in the final of the
Stuttgart
Open to win a 13th WTA title.
Both players had stolen the headlines and made it this far,
overcoming a stacked field in Germany featuring the likes of Iga Swiatek, Coco
Gauff, Mirra Andreeva and Elina Svitolina. None of them were able to topple the
two finalists, and Muchova was unable to knock the two-time Grand Slam champion
off her perch after winning this title for a second time.
While not vintage Rybakina at times, she produced the goods at
the right time. She resisted an inspiring comeback from Muchova in the first set
to take the lead before clinching the initiative from an early stage in the
second set. She did not faff around this time, showing her dominance and
prestige to race towards a
second title in 2026.
Rybakina takes down Muchova for more success in Stuttgart
Rybakina controlled the match from the off. Her serving
would prove to be pivotal in this match, and she began proceedings with a
comfortable hold. Muchova had not got going in the early stages, falling behind
as Rybakina mustered up the first break point chance of the final. A wild
forehand gave the Kazakh the upper hand before another hold allowed her to
motor further away in a statement of intent.
Muchova managed to get a game on the board after coming back
from a 15-30 deficit to give her a foundation to build off. She was in desperate
need of a break if she was to get anything from this final, but Rybakina proved
to be a stubborn figure. A huge ace completed an ominous hold to love.
The Czech tried to stay within touching distance of her
rival, but the Rybakina serve was making it very hard to complete this along
with that break disadvantage she had. Rybakina had won 10 consecutive points on
serve to move within one of the first set. Muchova forced her to serve it out,
a welcoming task on most occasions for someone with her calibre, but errors
continued to creep into her game and Muchova pounced. She cooly converted a
solitary break point to get the contest back on serve.
Elena Rybakina has won the Stuttgart Open for the second time
Muchova charges back from a scary 0-30 position to win four
points in a row and brings the match level for the first time since it began. Rybakina
then, once more, piled the pressure on the Muchova serve with a tiebreak seeming
inevitable. This was not the case as, at the third time of asking, Rybakina saw
a Muchova shot sail long as the first set was finally confirmed.
Rybakina would be hoping for a less stressful second set.
She got an early hold under her belt without the faff before breaking the
Muchova serve. A possible sign of things to come in a repeat of the beginning
of the first set.
She again limited any opportunity Muchova could create on
her serve before sprinting into a 4-0 lead. That double break advantage was
cemented with the last break point having been 0-40 in the lead. It seemed like
the end was near when a hold to love put Rybakina just a single game away from
the title.
Muchova prevented the bagel, but it seemed that her title
challenge has fallen away. Rybakina held with ease as she was crowned as the
Queen of Stuttgart for the second time in the past three years.