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The Porsche Tennis Grand Prix 2025 in Stuttgart is where most of the top stars of the WTA Tour have gathered this week. Despite being a WTA 500 tournament, it features a stacked draw, led by World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, along with 10 more players from the top 20.
Iga Swiatek will be seeking a third title in Stuttgart following her coronation here in 2022 and 2023. Jessica Pegula will compete here for the first time, while Coco Gauff will aim to go beyond the quarterfinals this time. Mirra Andreeva, who won a couple of WTA 1000 titles in the past few weeks, will look to continue her impressive form on clay as well.
While plenty of big names have assembled in Stuttgart, there are a few notable names missing from the draw for various reasons. Here's a look at three high-profile names who are not competing at this year's Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart:
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#3. Madison Keys
Madison Keys was on a roll until a few weeks ago. She won the Adelaide International and carried that momentum to claim her maiden Major title at the Australian Open. She saved a match point against Swiatek in the semifinals and beat two-time defending champion Sabalenka in the summit clash.
Keys' unbeaten run eventually came to an end at the hands of Sabalenka in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells. She was stunned by Alexandra Eala in the third round of the Miami Open after that. Her clay swing commenced at the Charleston Open, where Anna Kalinskaya sent her packing in the third round.
The American has chosen to rest instead of competing alongside her fellow top players at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart. This would've been a good way to test herself after her middle-of-the-road results in the last two tournaments. She will resume her clay season at next week's Madrid Open.
#2. Emma Raducanu
Emma Raducanu recently reached the quarterfinals of the Miami Open. It marked her first last eight appearance at the WTA 1000 level. It was also the first time she won four consecutive matches since her title-winning run at the US Open 2021.
The young Brit has commenced her clay season by competing at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix since 2022. She made the quarterfinals in 2022 and 2024, and bowed out in the first round in 2023. All three of her losses have come against Major champions. She lost to Swiatek in each of her quarterfinal matches, while Jelena Ostapenko ousted her in the first round.
Raducanu is also the brand ambassador for Porsche. Coupled with her track record in Stuttgart, one expected her to return to the venue once again this year. However, she instead opted to enter the other tournament happening this week in Rouen, a WTA 250 event. She has since withdrawn from that as well. She also missed the Billie Jean King Cup ties that took place over the last few days.
Raducanu is now expected to return in time for the Madrid Open. Her time in the Spanish capital was rather brief last year as she was knocked out in the first round. She will hope to remedy that with a deep run this time.
#1. Elena Rybakina
The most shocking omission from this year's Porsche Tennis Grand Prix is that of defending champion Elena Rybakina. Scheduling conflicts forced her to completely abandon her title defense in Stuttgart.
The tournament begins on Monday, April 14, while Rybakina was all the way in the southern hemisphere. She was representing Kazakhstan in the Billie Jean King Cup ties that kept her occupied until Friday, April 11. She won both of her matches to help her country qualify for the finals, scheduled to be held later this year.
The journey from Australia to Germany is a long one. Additionally, the Billie Jean King Cup matches were played on hardcourts. Switching over to clay with barely any time to practice on the surface would have been detrimental to Rybakina's chances of a successful title defense. Keeping this in mind, she opted not to compete in Stuttgart this time.
Rybakina's triumph at last year's Porsche Tennis Grand Prix remains the last time she walked away as a champion. She hasn't reached a final since then, although she did miss a good chunk of the previous season due to injuries and illness. She will also drop out of the top 10 of the rankings following the conclusion of the tournament due to not defending her title.
While she has performed at a decent level this year, her off-court issues, mainly the drama surrounding her coach, have been the focus of attention rather than her results. She will return to action at the Madrid Open next week, where she made the semifinals last year.
