Karolina Muchova recorded her first victory over Coco Gauff in seven meetings, outlasting the No. 2 seed 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 to reach the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix semifinals.

The seventh-seeded Czech had been 0-6 against Gauff and had taken only one set from her previously, most recently losing 6-1, 6-1 last month in Miami. Muchova withstood a second-set recovery from Gauff and regained control in the decider to close the match in two hours and 24 minutes on Center Court.

Gauff arrived in Stuttgart in strong spring form, having reached her first final at Hard Rock Stadium and pushing world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka to three sets there. She opened her Stuttgart campaign with a straightforward win over Liudmila Samsonova on Thursday but struggled for consistency early against Muchova, committing 16 forehand unforced errors in the first set.

Without a first-round bye, Muchova was playing her third match of the week after surviving a three-setter against Elise Mertens in the round of 16. The former Roland Garros finalist has also posted solid results in 2026, capturing her first WTA 1000 title at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in February.

After claiming the opening set, Muchova briefly saw the momentum shift as Gauff served out the second. In the final set Muchova tightened her game, earned the decisive break in the sixth game, saved three break points to consolidate that advantage and ultimately served out the victory, closing to 15.

The win sends Muchova into the semifinals of the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix and gives her a breakthrough result against a player who had dominated their previous encounters.

Francisco Roig and Iga Swiatek took a first step together in Stuttgart, a debut that felt constructive if not yet fully synchronised. In the second set of her opening match she bulldozed a backhand winner down the line; Roig, talking with a member of her player box, noticed Swiatek watching from her seat and offered a quick thumbs up. That small exchange captured the tone of the day: a workmanlike victory and room to refine the relationship.

Swiatek beat Laura Siegemund 6-2, 6-3, overcoming a tricky opponent playing in front of home fans. It was a low-drama win, but also a reminder of areas to fix. She double-faulted seven times in the match, a serve issue that Roig and Swiatek will surely address.

The pairing follows a difficult stretch for the Pole. Her ranking has fallen from No. 2 to No. 4 this season, despite having spent 122 weeks at No. 1. She has not yet won an individual title in 2026 and, after a shock loss to 56th-ranked countrywoman Magda Linette in Miami, Swiatek decided to part ways with Wim Fissette.

Swiatek then sought a clay-focused reset at Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca, a stay she described as intense. “I don’t think I ever spent so much time on court as I did in Mallorca,” she said on Wednesday. “A week full of grind.” She called the experience inspiring: “With Rafa it was a really inspiring time. Having him on the court was an extra crazy boost of motivation. He has that energy. Having him on court you want to show him the same kind of vibe.”

She left Mallorca having added Roig, one of Nadal’s long-time coaches. “I haven’t changed coaches often in my career, but I feel excited,” she says. “I was basically looking for someone with a good eye, really technical, but also a person that is experienced enough to help me through some different kind of situations.” Swiatek also emphasised openness to the new methods: “I think you need to be really open minded, and soak in this new approach. I feel like with Francisco, we have a similar view as far as how I should play.”

With Roig in her corner, Swiatek is looking to capture her first clay-court title since 2024 Roland Garros. Match one was encouraging; the real test will be whether the new pairing can convert that inspiration into results across the clay swing.

Most of the attention in the new rankings was on the men’s No. 1 changing hands, with Jannik Sinner reclaiming the top spot from Carlos Alcaraz after Monte Carlo. On the WTA side, however, an eye-catching arrival in the Top 100 deserves notice. Austrian teenager Lilli Tagger moved from No. 117 to No. 97 after advancing to her first WTA 500 quarterfinal on home soil in Linz.

Tagger, who just turned 18 in February, is the first player born in 2008 to reach the Top 100 on either the WTA or ATP rankings. Her playing style stands out: she uses a one-handed backhand, a rare stroke among the women’s tour and particularly unusual for a rising teenager.

That classic technique is reinforced by her coaching: she is currently being coached by Francesca Schiavone, the last woman with a one-handed backhand to win a Grand Slam title.

Her results to date underline the promise. Last June she captured the junior title at Roland Garros as an unseeded player, defeating four seeded opponents in six matches, including the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds, and she did so without dropping a set. In her very first WTA main draw last fall she reached her first WTA final as a No. 235-ranked wild card, finishing runner-up to Anna Blinkova.

At Linz she recorded the biggest win of her career by beating No. 21-ranked Liudmila Samsonova on the way to the WTA 500 quarterfinal.

Tagger also alters the look of the Top 100 with her backhand: she is now one of four women in the Top 100 who use a one-handed backhand, alongside Tatjana Maria (No. 63), Viktorija Golubic (No. 81) and Diane Parry (No. 100). Her rapid rise and distinctive technique make her one to watch as she establishes herself on the senior tour.