Aryna Sabalenka matches two Serena Williams records as she storms to Madrid Open title
Aryna Sabalenka continues to add notches to her status as the best player in the women’s game and her win against Coco Gauff in the Madrid Open final saw her equal two records held by the great Serena Williams.
Sabalenka defeated Coco Gauff 6-3, 7-6[3] to win her third title of the season in a match littered with errors as both players appeared to be struggling to deal with the tension in a match that was played in front of a less-than-full stadium in Madrid.
Gauff had a chance to leap above Iga Swiatek on the WTA Rankings with a win and Sabalenka was trying to reverse a 5-4 losing record against her American rival and with so much at stake, both players failed to play their best tennis.
Sabalenka reeled off 17 points in a row to lead 4-1 as Gauff’s game appeared to be collapsing, but she found a way to get back into the match in the second set.
Gauff served for the set at 5-4, but her enduring serving problems resurfaced as she threw in double faults to hand Sabalenka a route back into the match and she sealed the deal in the tie break to clinch her third title in Madrid.
It ensured that Sabalenka is the only second player in the Open Era to win her first 3 clay court titles in a Grand Slam, Tier I or WTA-1000 event [all in Madrid] after Serena Williams.
She also matched another Williams record with this win, as she became the second player with three titles in two different WTA-1000 events since the format’s introduction in 2009 [Madrid and Wuhan].
Williams achieved that feat in Miami and Rome, as Sabalenka continues to set records that is allowing her to match some of the game’s all-time greats.
Sabalenka adds the Madrid crown to titles in Miami and Brisbane, with her immaculate consistency seeing her reach the final in six of the eight tournaments she has played so far in 2025.
Former British No 1 Annabel Croft, speaking on Sky Sports Tennis, suggested Sabalenka was a worthy winner, as she lauded her consistency.
“She really deserved it. It wasn’t a great start from Coco Gauff and I thought at one stage it was going to be a whitewash actually and then she suddenly released,” said Croft.
“There were some dramatic moments with set point and match point and then into a tie-break, but I have to say Sabalenka did play the better tennis.”
Former top 20 doubles player Colin Fleming offered words of sympathy for Gauff, as the weak spots in her game were highlighted once again as she double-faulted on match point.
“I’m gutted for Coco Gauff because I thought she was marginally the better player for a good chunk of the second set,” said Fleming.
“When the pressure is on, that is when your technique is really tested and unfortunately, there were three double faults in that game at 5-4, then at 5-5 the forehand went. Then it unravelled from there.”
Sabalenka and Gauff will now head to Rome, where the next WTA 1000 event on clay courts gets underway on Tuesday.
