The WTA Stuttgart tournament has reached the final. At a tournament where Aryna Sabalenka did not play, and where Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff lost before the semifinal round, we still have a very interesting and compelling championship match. Karolina Muchova continues to play great tennis and continues a very strong 2026 season on the tour. Elena Rybakina is the top seed with Sabalenka out, and she is now one win from another title this year. It’s a match tennis fans should enjoy: Muchova’s all-court game against Rybakina’s serve and power.
WTA Stuttgart
Rybakina-Muchova: Time 7:00
H2H: 1-2
Karolina Muchova is enjoying one of her best seasons on tour. She has played in a major final before, and she has reached other major semifinals, but whenever she would do something really special, she would get injured and couldn’t finish out a full year of quality tennis. So far in 2026, Muchova is staying healthy and taking advantage of that. She won in Doha. She reached the Round of 16 in Indian Wells. She made the semifinals in Miami. She is now in the Stuttgart final. She is collecting a lot of wins in tour events across the world. She is closing in on a top-10 WTA ranking and is establishing herself as a main threat at the French Open, which is just over one month away.
Elena Rybakina is having an even better season than Muchova. The World No. 2 is the top seed at this tournament because of Aryna Sabalenka’s absence, and she is taking full advantage. She didn’t play any tournaments after Miami, choosing to rest for the European clay swing. That turned out to be a good decision.
She came to Stuttgart and played her way into form. She looked very good on Saturday in a straight-set semifinal win over Mirra Andreeva, who had won at WTA Linz, and had generated momentum going into Saturday’s match. Rybakina won a very close first set and then pulled away in the second for a decisive win over an in-form opponent. Rybakina has clearly surpassed Coco Gauff and Iga Swiatek in terms of current form and 2026 achievements. Now let’s see if she can maintain that level of play throughout the spring.
Best Bet to Make
Both players are playing well and are showing they can win close matches and close sets. They have both won three-set matches at this tournament. Muchova, however, has won back-to-back matches against Coco Gauff, whom she had never previously beaten, and Elina Svitolina. Rybakina’s win over Andreeva was impressive, but she almost lost to Leylah Fernandez earlier in the tournament, her one shaky match of the week. If we are to compare the form of both players, Muchova gets the edge. The bet you make should lean in her direction in some way.
That being said, Muchova playing a close match (+1.5 sets), is a value bet for sure.
Value bet/ the best odds: Muchova +1.5 sets @1.75 @interwetten
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports