Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart Open Final Round-up | Elena Rybakina secures another Porsche in dominant straight set title triumph over Karolina Muchova

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 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.

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.