Coco Gauff’s clear path: Favourite to claim Stuttgart Open title

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Coco Gauff has hit a good stretch of form following a mixed start to the 2026 season.

The American came into the year looking to bounce back from an inconsistent finish to 2025, but struggled early on, losing in Melbourne and Doha before pulling out of Indian Wells with an injury.

She reached the Miami Open final just weeks later, falling just short against Aryna Sabalenka. In Charleston, she was eliminated by Emma Navarro in the round of 16 but returned to the final stage in Madrid, again losing out to Sabalenka.

She heads into Stuttgart as the favourite thanks to a favourable draw and still holds third spot in the latest WTA rankings, trailing only Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka.

Coco Gauff handed a promising Stuttgart Open draw

Coco Gauff has good reason to be optimistic about her Stuttgart Open campaign after taking a look at the path she’ll need to navigate.

After receiving a bye into the second round, the American will face either Antonia Ruzic or Liudmila Samsonova.

Ruzic is ranked outside the world’s top 50, and Samsonova hasn’t won a match since February, currently on a six-match losing streak that started at the Abu Dhabi Open.

If Gauff reaches the quarter-finals, she could meet world number 12 Karolina Muchova. Muchova has started this year strongly, winning the Qatar Open and reaching the semi-finals in Miami.

Even so, Gauff has had the upper hand in their head-to-head meetings. She’s won all six of their matches dating back to Cincinnati in 2023.

Their most recent encounter was particularly one-sided, with Gauff winning 6-1, 6-1 in the Miami Open semi-finals.

How Gauff has fared in previous Stuttgart Open tournaments

Coco Gauff first appeared at the Stuttgart Open back in 2022. The American, who wasn’t seeded that year, lost her opening match to Daria Kasatkina of Australia, 4-6, 2-6.

A year later, she picked up her first win at the tournament by defeating Veronika Kudermetova in the opening round.

But despite being seeded fifth that time, she was knocked out in the next round by Anastasia Potapova. So far, Gauff hasn’t managed to string together more than one win at this event.

In each of the last two years, she’s reached the quarter-finals but hasn’t progressed further. Last season’s run ended with a straight-set loss to Jasmine Paolini.