Aryna Sabalenka cemented her status as a force in Madrid, securing her third tournament title after a hard-fought victory. The World No. 1 overcame fourth seed Coco Gauff in the Mutua Madrid Open WTA 1000 final on Saturday, winning 6-3, 7-6(3).
Sabalenka had to withstand a strong push from Gauff in the second set. Gauff, who was vying for her first title of the year and a potential return to the World No. 2 ranking, held a set point at 5-4. However, Sabalenka saved the opportunity and sealed the win in 1 hour and 39 minutes.
“I`m just super excited every time to come to Madrid to play on this beautiful court,” Sabalenka commented after her win. “I don`t know, I just love this court, I love the support here, I think that`s the secret.”
Career Milestones Achieved
This triumph marks a significant milestone for Sabalenka, her 20th career Hologic WTA Tour singles title. With this third victory in Madrid, she now holds the joint record for the most women`s singles titles at the Mutua Madrid Open, alongside Petra Kvitova, who also won three times (2011, 2015, and 2018).
Continuing a trend, Sabalenka has now claimed the Madrid title in odd-numbered years this decade. She defeated then-World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in the 2021 final and took down reigning No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the 2023 final. Sabalenka was close to a third consecutive win last year but narrowly lost to Swiatek in the 2024 final.
Leading the Tour in 2025
The Madrid trophy is Sabalenka`s tour-leading third title of 2025, adding to her wins in Brisbane and the previous WTA 1000 event in Miami. She is only the second player, following Serena Williams in 2013, to win both the Miami and Madrid tournaments in the same season.
Sabalenka also leads the Hologic WTA Tour in match wins for 2025. Her victory over Gauff on Saturday was her 31st win of the year, putting her ahead of Jessica Pegula, who is currently second with 27 wins.
“I`ve been working [my] whole life to achieve this goal, and to be on the top of the ranking, that means a lot,” Sabalenka stated.
Match Overview
Heading into Saturday`s final, Gauff held a slight edge in their head-to-head record at 5-4, including their only previous clay-court encounter in Rome 2021, which Gauff won.
However, after Gauff held her opening service game, Sabalenka dominated the first set, winning 17 consecutive points to establish a commanding 4-1 lead. Although Gauff managed to break back and create chances at 4-3, Sabalenka recovered her composure to win three straight games and secure the first set.
The second set was a much tighter affair. Gauff elevated her game, hitting with more power and precision, and earned an early break, eventually serving for the set at 5-4. The game was tense, with Sabalenka seeing a 0-40 lead evaporate. Despite this, Sabalenka persevered, converting her fifth break point of the game to draw level at 5-5.
Two games later, Sabalenka had her first championship point, but Gauff fought hard to force a crucial tiebreak as light drizzle began to fall. In the tiebreak, Sabalenka`s initial 3-0 lead was reduced to 3-3, but the top seed capitalized on errors from Gauff to regain control. Sabalenka reached three championship points at 6-3, and the hard-fought match concluded when Gauff hit her eighth double fault.
Sabalenka now boasts an impressive 6-0 record against Top 10 players this season. While Gauff hit four more winners in the final, she also accumulated seven more unforced errors, which ultimately tilted the match in Sabalenka`s favor.
“I`ve been working really hard and improving my game on bringing variety into my game,” Sabalenka explained. “I think that`s the biggest key in most of the matches right now.” She added, “I`m super happy that we were able to improve my game in, honestly, in everything, the movement, my touch game is much better right now. … Kind of like trying to come to the net, I`m not sure if it`s really successful so far, but I`m trying,” she concluded with a laugh.
Rupert Caldwell