World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka won her third career Mutua Madrid Open title with a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory over No. 4 seed Coco Gauff in Saturday’s WTA 1000 final.
Sabalenka staved off a second-set charge by Gauff, who was seeking her first title of the year and a possible return to the World No. 2 ranking. Sabalenka erased a set point at 5-4 on her way to a 1-hour and 39-minute victory.
“I’m just super excited every time to come to Madrid to play on this beautiful court,” Sabalenka said after her win. “I don’t know, I just love this court, I love the support here, I think that’s the secret.”
This marks Sabalenka’s milestone 20th career Hologic WTA Tour singles title. Additionally, she is now tied for the most Mutua Madrid Open titles in women’s singles; Petra Kvitova has also won this title thrice (2011, 2015 and 2018).
Sabalenka continues her pattern of winning this title in odd-numbered years during this decade. She beat then-World No. 1 Ashleigh Barty to claim the title in 2021, and took down another reigning No. 1, Iga Swiatek, in the 2023 final. Sabalenka nearly completed the hat trick last year but narrowly lost to Swiatek in last year’s classic final.
Sabalenka is also well in front as this year’s match-win leader at Hologic WTA Tour events. Saturday’s victory over Gauff was her 31st match-win of 2025, and she is firmly in front of second-placed Jessica Pegula (27 match-wins in 2025).
“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 said.
Sabalenka is now 6-0 against Top 10 players this season. Gauff did finish the final with four more winners than Sabalenka, but the American also had seven more unforced errors as Sabalenka narrowly triumphed.
“I’ve been working really hard and improving my game on bringing variety into my game,” Sabalenka said. “I think that’s the biggest key in most of the matches right now.
“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,” Sabalenka said with a laugh.
© Copyrights Sixsports. All Rights Reserved.
