World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka is set to meet World No. 4 Coco Gauff on Saturday in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open, the fifth WTA 1000 tournament of the 2025 calendar.
Madrid: Draws | Scores | Order of play
This final marks Sabalenka`s 37th career appearance in a title match, her 10th on clay, and her sixth of the 2025 season from eight events played. Her year includes victories at Brisbane and Miami, as well as runner-up finishes at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Stuttgart. The current World No. 1 boasts the most wins on tour this year with a 30-5 record.
Gauff reaches her 11th career final overall and her third on clay, her first on the surface since Roland Garros in 2022. This is also her first final since capturing the WTA Finals Riyadh title in 2024. Her record for the season stands at 19 wins and 6 losses.
When is the women`s singles final?
The women`s singles final is scheduled for Saturday, May 3, and will not start before 6:30 p.m. CEST (12:30 p.m. ET). It will take place at the Caja Mágica venue in Madrid. The doubles final is set for Sunday, May 4, at 3:30 p.m. CEST (9:30 a.m. ET).
Madrid observes Central European Summer Time (GMT +2).
What are the rankings points and prize money at stake?
Both finalists, Sabalenka and Gauff, have secured 650 PIF WTA Ranking points and €523,870 in prize money by reaching this stage in Madrid. The winner of Saturday`s match will earn 1,000 points and a total of €985,030.
Regardless of the outcome, Sabalenka will retain her position as World No. 1. Gauff has the opportunity to rise to World No. 2 should she win the title.
Sabalenka and Gauff: Path to the final
Aryna Sabalenka (lost only one set)
- Defeated Anna Blinkova 6-3, 6-4
- Defeated No. 28 Elise Mertens 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
- Defeated Peyton Stearns 6-2, 6-4
- Defeated No. 24 Marta Kostyuk 7-6(4), 7-6(7) (This was the longest two-set match of 2025, lasting 2 hours and 34 minutes, where she saved one set point in the first set and three in the second).
- Defeated No. 17 Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5
Coco Gauff (also lost only one set)
- Defeated Dayana Yastremska 0-6, 6-2, 7-5
- Defeated Ann Li 6-3, 6-2
- Defeated Belinda Bencic 6-4, 6-2
- Defeated No. 7 Mirra Andreeva 7-5, 6-1 (Saved two set points in the first set).
- Defeated No. 2 Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 (This result marked Swiatek’s fewest games won in a clay match since 2019).
Notable Stats and Streaks
- Gauff has the chance to become only the second player in the 21st century to win a WTA title after losing the opening set 6-0 (Angelique Kerber achieved this at Linz in 2013).
- At the WTA 1000/Tier I level, the last player to accomplish this was Arantxa Sánchez Vicario at Hilton Head in 1996.
How do they stack up?
Coco Gauff holds a narrow 5-4 advantage in their overall head-to-head record. This includes a 1-0 lead on clay courts and a 1-0 record in finals.
Their first encounter was in the second round of Lexington in 2020, where the then No. 53-ranked Gauff secured her third career Top 20 win against No. 2 seed Sabalenka with a 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4 scoreline. Sabalenka got her revenge at the same stage in Ostrava later that year, mounting a comeback from 5-2 down in the third set to defeat Gauff 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(2).
In 2021, they met on clay for their only previous match on the surface. Gauff ended Sabalenka`s seven-match winning streak with a 7-5, 6-3 victory in the Rome third round.
Since then, all their meetings have been on hard courts. In 2022, Gauff recovered from a 3-0 deficit in the third set to triumph 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) in the third round of Toronto. In 2023, they split matches: Sabalenka decisively won 6-4, 6-0 in the Indian Wells first round, but Gauff claimed her first Grand Slam title by defeating Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the US Open final.
In 2024, their three matches were all in semifinals. Sabalenka edged Gauff 7-6(2), 6-4 at the Australian Open before winning her second major title. She then came back from a set and 4-2 down to deny the American 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Wuhan. However, Gauff won their most recent meeting 7-6(4), 6-3 at the WTA Finals Riyadh en route to the championship.
What milestones are at stake on Sunday?
Sabalenka is appearing in her fourth Madrid final, equalling Simona Halep for the most final appearances since the tournament began in 2009. She is aiming for her third Madrid title, which would tie her with Petra Kvitova (2011, 2015, 2018) for the most titles won here. Sabalenka previously won in 2021 and 2023, and was the runner-up in 2024 to Iga Swiatek.
At 20 years old, Gauff becomes the second-youngest finalist in Madrid Open history, following only Caroline Wozniacki, who was 18 when she finished runner-up in 2009.
Sabalenka holds a perfect 5-0 record against Top 10 players in 2025 so far (in completed matches), a feat not achieved since Serena Williams in 2014. She is also the first player since Martina Hingis in 2001 to reach six finals within the first four months of a single season.
Gauff`s record against Top 10 opponents this year is 2-1, with both wins occurring this week against Andreeva and Swiatek. She is seeking her fourth career victory over a reigning World No. 1, having previously defeated Ashleigh Barty (Rome 2021, retirement), Iga Swiatek (Cincinnati 2023), and Aryna Sabalenka (2024 WTA Finals Riyadh).
Gauff aims to enhance her impressive 9-1 record in career finals. Her only loss came against Swiatek at Roland Garros in 2022. A win would give Gauff her 10th career title from 11 finals. In the Open Era, only Nancy Richey and Anna Smashnova reached 10 titles in fewer final appearances (both won their first 10 consecutive finals).
Between 2020 and 2024, only six players managed to defeat both Sabalenka and Swiatek in the same tournament: Victoria Azarenka (2020 US Open), Garbiñe Muguruza (Dubai 2021), Maria Sakkari (2021 WTA Finals Guadalajara), Barbora Krejcikova (Dubai 2023), Elena Rybakina (Indian Wells 2023), and Gauff (2024 WTA Finals Riyadh). However, in the first four months of 2025 alone, three players have already achieved this `Sabalenka/Swiatek double`: Madison Keys (Australian Open), Mirra Andreeva (Dubai), and Jelena Ostapenko (Stuttgart).
Gauff has the opportunity to become the first player to defeat both Sabalenka and Swiatek in the same tournament on two separate occasions. Furthermore, a Gauff victory would make 2025 the first calendar year in the Open Era where four different players have defeated both the reigning World No. 1 and World No. 2 in the same event.
