Stuttgart’s next big matches

Thursday’s center-court program in Stuttgart puts Elena Rybakina against Diana Shnaider and Coco Gauff against Liudmila Samsonova in the Round of 16. (wtatennis.com) The official order of play lists Rybakina-Shnaider as not before 5:00 p.m. local time on April 16, with Samsonova-Gauff not before 6:30 p.m. local time at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix. (wtatennis.com) The WTA draw shows Rybakina as the No. 1 seed in Stuttgart and Gauff as the No. 2 seed, and both received first-round byes before their opening clay matches. (wtatennis.com) Shnaider reached Rybakina by beating Tamara Korpatsch 6-3, 6-1 in the first round, while Samsonova advanced with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Antonia Ruzic. (wtatennis.com) Stuttgart is one of the first major clay stops of the women’s spring season, and the tournament is played on indoor clay at Porsche Arena in Germany. The event runs from April 11 to April 19, 2026, with total prize money listed at €1,049,083. (porsche-tennis.com) (wtatennis.com) The field is stacked beyond those two matches. The WTA said six of the Top 10 players in the PIF WTA Rankings entered the 2026 draw, including Rybakina and Iga Swiatek in the top half. (wtatennis.com) Thursday’s schedule also included Karolina Muchova against Elise Mertens, Alycia Parks against Mirra Andreeva, Ekaterina Alexandrova against Linda Noskova, and Leylah Fernandez against Zeynep Sonmez in singles play. (wtatennis.com) By Thursday morning in Stuttgart, Iga Swiatek and Elina Svitolina had already secured quarterfinal spots, leaving the evening matches to shape the rest of the last-eight lineup. (porsche-tennis.com) The day’s biggest questions are straightforward: how Rybakina opens her clay swing against an in-form Shnaider, and whether Gauff can get through Samsonova to join a quarterfinal field already taking shape. (wtatennis.com 1) (wtatennis.com 2)