Final in the Porsche Arena: Karolina Muchova against Elena Rybakina

The final promises tennis of the highest quality. In front of another capacity 4,400 crowd in the Porsche Arena on Saturday, Karolina Muchova dug very deep to qualify for her first final in Stuttgart. She beat Elina Svitolina 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in two hours 14 minutes. The world No. 12 had to go the distance once again, but held her nerve when it mattered most. At 4-4 in the decider, she earned the crucial break and soon afterwards converted her first match point with an ace. “It’s so nice to play here in a sold-out Porsche Arena,” said Muchova who on Sunday can become the third Czech winner in the Porsche Arena after Karolina Pliskova in 2018 and Petra Kvitova in 2019. Her tactics were spot on saying: “I tried to vary things again and again to avoid long rallies.” And even though her full focus was on the match, the sight of the winner’s car was never far away: “Having that car in view on court is a very special motivation.”

Karolina Muchova will meet top seed Elena Rybakina in Sunday’s final. The reigning Australian Open champion came through 7-5, 6-1 against Mirra Andreeva. After her dramatic quarterfinal on Friday, the world No. 2 and 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix winner looked far more settled and, after a close first set, increasingly found her rhythm. “The first set was tight, but my serve worked well in the important moments,” said the Kazakh. “In the second set, I played more freely and I’m very happy with my performance.” The short recovery time after the previous evening’s three-set thriller was not a problem for her. “I was able to sleep in today, so I was feeling great,” she said, adding with a smile when looking ahead to the final that there is definitely still room in her garage for another winner’s car from Stuttgart.

Jelena Ostapenko has a chance to secure another Stuttgart title

The line-up in the doubles final is also complete. USA‘s Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Liudmila Samsonova came through the first semifinal 6-2, 4-6, 10-5 against the Australian-Dutch pairing of Ellen Perez and Demi Schuurs. In the second semifinal, top-seeded Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia and her Chinese partner Shuai Zhang reached the final with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Ulrikke Eikeri (Norway) and Quinn Gleason (USA). It gives Jelena Ostapenko the chance to claim another title in Stuttgart after winning the singles last year. The doubles final will be played on Sunday after the singles.

Saturday’s results

Semifinals, singles

[7] K. Muchova (CZE) def [4] E. Svitolina (UKR) 6-4,2-6, 6-4

[1] E. Rybakina (KAZ) def [6] M. Andreeva 7-5, 6-1

Semifinals, doubles

[4] N. Melichar-Martinez (USA)/L. Samsonova def [2] E. Perez (AUS)/D. Schuurs (NED) 6-2, 4-6, 10-5

[1] J. Ostapenko (LAT)/S. Zhang (CHN) def U. Eikeri (NOR)/Q. Gleason (USA) 6-3, 7-5

Schedule, Sunday

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