The Madrid Open on the women's side has been a thrilling tournament filled with great matches and top contenders squaring off, and now we are set up for a final between two of the top three players in the world. World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka clinched her spot in the final with a hard-fought win over 17th-seed Elina Svitolina, 6-3 7-5.
Sabalenka will take on American Coco Gauff, who will be No. 2 in the new rankings on Monday with a title and No. 3 with a loss on Saturday. Gauff has struggled a lot this season, losing early at multiple big events, but has regained her form this week just in time for the Rome WTA 1000 and the French Open in Paris at the end of May.
Gauff turned heads in the first semifinal on Thursday with a stellar 6-1, 6-1 win over No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek. The Polish superstar was the defending champion in Madrid and has dominated the rest of the tour on the clay in recent years, including four Roland Garros titles in the last five years.
Sabalenka has the No. 1 ranking secured and currently holds a massive lead in the rankings for the top spot. She has emerged as the dominant force on the WTA Tour over the last two years and is the favorite in any match she plays at this point in her career.
Most of Aryna Sabalenka's success has come on the hard courts — she has made the final at each of the previous five hard-court grand slams, winning three of them — but she is still a force to be reckoned with on the clay and especially in Madrid. Saturday will be her fourth final at La Caja Magica in the last five years, collecting two titles during that time while losing an epic final against Swiatek last season.
Gauff will bring plenty of confidence into this match based on her form at this tournament in 2025 as well as the previous head-to-head against Sabalenka. The American leads the series between the two 5-4, including a win in their only clay-court meeting back in Rome in 2021. Gauff famously beat Sabalenka in the 2023 U.S. Open final in three sets and also won their last meeting, a straight-set victory at the WTA Finals last fall.