World No. 2 Elena Rybakina has made her entry into the WTA clay-court quarterfinals event in Stuttgart. On Thursday, April 16, the top seed defeated Diana Shnaider in straight sets of 6-3, 6-4. Meanwhile, reigning French Open champion Coco Gauff has also secured her qualification alongside Rybakina.
World No. 19 Shnaider emerged in the second set but her double faults resulted in the advantage of the Kazakhstani Rybakina. The 2024 German tournament champion had skipped last year’s event. This time, she was able to secure her win in the event against Shnaider in an hour and 12 minutes.
With the win, Rybakina will next take on either Leylah Fernandez or Zeynep Sonmez in the quarterfinals game. Meanwhile, World No. 3 Gauff won her Stuttgart title with a straight-sets win over Liudmila.
The second-seeded American had won her game after defeating Czech Karolina Muchova in sets of 7-5, 6-1 to book her place in the quarterfinals, scheduled for Friday, April 17.
Earlier on Thursday, April 16, Muchova had defeated Elise Mertens by 1-6, 6-3, 6-0 to book her game against Gauff. Meanwhile, Gauff is trying to work on her clay court game while trying to match the 14-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal of Spain.
“The greatest clay court player is Rafa. I don’t quite play like him, but I try to hit my forehand like him. I’m like the Walmart version of Rafa—I don’t want to be obliterated online,” she mentioned.
Stuttgart Open 2026 Quarterfinal Highlights
Elena Rybakina d. Leylah Fernandez (7-6, 3-6, 7-6)
Mirra Andreeva d. Iga Swiatek (3-6, 6-4, 6-3)
Karolina Muchova d. Coco Gauff (6-3, 5-7, 6-3)
Elina Svitolina d. Linda Noskova [7(7)-6(2), 7-5]
Stuttgart Open 2026 Semifinal Matchups
Elena Rybakina vs. Mirra Andreeva
Karolina Muchova vs. Elina Svitolina
