Elena Rybakina captured her second Porsche Tennis Grand Prix trophy, defeating Karolina Muchova 7-5, 6-1 in a one hour and 18 minute final on Center Court. The top seed overcame a spirited comeback in the first set from the No. 7 seed before asserting control in the second.

Rybakina, the reigning 2026 Australian Open champion, is set to return to No. 1 in the Race to the WTA Finals standings after the victory. Since her major triumph in Melbourne, the 26-year-old produced steady results but had not claimed another title, finishing runner-up to the world No. 1 at the BNP Paribas Open and falling in the Miami Open semifinals.

With Aryna Sabalenka absent from the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix because of injury, Rybakina targeted a strong start to her clay-court season and lost just one set across four matches to complete that mission. She advanced through a third-set tiebreaker against Leylah Fernandez in the quarterfinals, handled No. 6 seed Mirra Andreeva after Andreeva had stunned No. 3 seed Iga Swiatek, and then carried momentum into the final.

Against Muchova, Rybakina raced to a 5-2 lead early in the opening set before Muchova fought back to level at 5-5 and saved two set points as she tried to force a tiebreak. Rybakina converted her third set point to close out the first set and then dominated the second, building a 5-0 advantage. Muchova avoided a bagel with a game for 5-1, but Rybakina served out the match to love.

Muchova arrived in Stuttgart off a breakthrough season that included her first WTA 1000 title at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open. She had also snapped losing streaks against Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina en route to the final, and she was the last woman to beat Rybakina before Rybakina went on to win the Australian Open. On Sunday, however, Rybakina’s form proved decisive as she lifted her second Porsche in three years.

Iga Swiatek has begun a clay-court preparation block that includes a new coach and on-court sessions with Rafael Nadal. The four-time Roland Garros champion hired Francisco Roig, Nadal’s longtime second coach, ahead of the clay season. Roig has also worked recently with Emma Raducanu and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.

The world No. 4 has been posting glimpses of training in Mallorca at the Rafa Nadal Academy, a base used by players such as Alexandra Eala and Casper Ruud. In several clips, Swiatek is seen working with Roig and hitting alongside Nadal, who appears to demonstrate elements of his forehand in one moment.

Reaction among peers was immediate. On The Players Box podcast, Jessica Pegula, Madison Keys, Jennifer Brady and Desirae Krawczyk summed up the locker-room response with one-word disbelief: “Scary!” Pegula called the pairing “perfect” for the Pole, who grew up idolizing Nadal and has trained at his academy before.

Pegula elaborated with a mix of humor and concern: “I saw that clip of (Iga and Rafa) on the clay, and I was like, Uhhhh… this is bad for everybody,” Pegula joked. “This should be illegal. This should not be allowed!” Keys added, “I was like, Oh god,” Keys said. “The last thing we needed Iga to have on the clay was Rafa… Scary.” Krawczyk offered a player’s perspective on performing in front of a legend: “I would be so nervous hitting in front of him,” Krawczyk added. “I mean, I would be so excited, but I’d be like, ‘Oh my god, I can’t miss in front of Rafa!”

Swiatek’s move comes as she seeks a response to a start to the season that has fallen short of expectations. She reached the last eight at the Australian Open, Doha and Indian Wells but has not progressed beyond quarterfinals at any event. In Miami she was upset in her opening match by 34-year-old Magda Linette after leading by a set, her first opening-round loss since 2021. She announced her split with Wim Fissette a week later.

Leylah Fernandez admitted she had to decline a doubles request from Venus Williams for the Australian Open because she was already committed with another partner. Fernandez, the No. 9 seed at the Credit One Charleston Open, first paired with Williams at the 2025 US Open and the two reunited at the Miami Open last week.

The Canadian described the difficulty of saying no to a former world No. 1 and 14-time Grand Slam doubles champion and explained how the pair kept in touch after their initial partnership. She also recounted a tough third-set tiebreak loss in Miami and the encouragement Williams offered afterward.

Q. And I just wanted to ask about the experience of playing doubles with Venus again, Miami, hadn’t played together since the US Open, how that came together again and what it was like to be back on the court with her?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah. With Venus we kind of kept in contact after the US Open. We were hoping to play — well, she asked me to play in Australia, but unfortunately I was already committed with Timea [Babos], so that was it. And then I did ask if she was going to the Middle East, but she wasn’t.

So, we were kind of figuring out the perfect time to play together, and Indian Wells and Miami was the two tournaments where we could play, and unfortunately, Indian Wells didn’t happen, but there was Miami Open, and it was a lot of fun. She’s a great mentor. I mean, in the last tiebreak, the third set tiebreaker, we were up and we lost it, and I remember I had like a couple of easy shots, easy volleys, and I missed, and I was really heartbroken at the end of the match because I was like really wanted to end the day with a win. And she told me, you know, like I played great, just to keep going, keep forward. If we all had a time machine, we would use it, but we don’t, so just keep moving forward.

So with that quote, that definitely helped me to kind of recharge and look at the bright side and just keep working the next day and find ways to improve.

Q. I know Timea was a great doubles player, but how tough was it to say no to Venus Williams, though?

LEYLAH FERNANDEZ: Yeah. There’s no disrespect to Timea. She’s an amazing doubles player. She’s had an amazing career. But it was so hard to say no to Venus because, again, she has like that big sister energy. I never want to disappoint my siblings, and saying no to them is so hard. And when her coach messaged me, I was like, oh, no! It’s two days too late! I couldn’t do it. But they understood and, again, we still kept in contact. We tried to find the perfect moment to play together.

Fernandez framed the decision as one made out of prior obligation, and she emphasized the value of the mentorship she receives when partnering with Williams.