World number one Aryna Sabalenka continued her strong performance at the Mutua Madrid Open, securing a 6-3, 7-5 victory over 17th seed Elina Svitolina in the semifinals on Thursday night at the Caja Magica.
Sabalenka defeated Svitolina in a match lasting 1 hour and 32 minutes, bringing an end to the Ukrainian`s perfect clay-court run this year. Svitolina had entered the match with an impressive 9-0 record on clay at WTA events in 2025, winning all 18 sets, but Sabalenka put a stop to that streak.
Marquee final set: The final on Saturday at this year`s first WTA 1000 clay-court tournament will feature a clash between Sabalenka and fourth seed Coco Gauff. Gauff reached the final by decisively defeating defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 in just 64 minutes earlier the same day.
Gauff holds a slight 5-4 advantage over Sabalenka in their career head-to-head meetings. Gauff won their only previous clay-court match in Rome in 2021, and also triumphed in their most recent encounter at the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Accumulating victories: Sabalenka has been a dominant figure at the Mutua Madrid Open this decade. She now boasts a lifetime record of 22-4 at the event, having won titles in 2021 and 2023, and reaching the final again last year.
Furthermore, this win firmly establishes Sabalenka as the leading player on tour in terms of match victories this year. By defeating Svitolina, she became the first player to achieve 30 main-draw wins at WTA events in 2025.
Match highlights: In the evening match on Court Manolo Santana, Sabalenka built an early 4-1 lead. However, Svitolina fought back, hitting a strong crosscourt backhand return to break and close the gap to 4-3.
Despite her comeback, Svitolina faced three break points in the following game and double-faulted on the third, quickly giving the advantage back to Sabalenka.
Serving for the first set at 5-3, Sabalenka saved three break points with some of her best serves and a backhand winner. She then hit her fourth ace to reach set point, followed by another unreturned serve to secure the opening set.
When Sabalenka reached 5-3 in the second set, victory for the world number one seemed almost inevitable. She had consistently found ways to escape trouble in her service games, even when facing break points.
However, the situation changed at 5-4. Serving for the match, Sabalenka stumbled, allowing Svitolina to break back and level the score. Svitolina`s momentum was short-lived, as Sabalenka immediately responded with a powerful backhand to break again, taking a 6-5 lead.
Given a second opportunity to serve for the match, Sabalenka did not repeat her previous error. The top seed quickly raced to a 40-0 lead and converted her second match point with a final backhand shot that forced an error from Svitolina.
Once again during this tournament, Sabalenka proved resilient under pressure, saving five out of seven break points against Svitolina. Her total of 39 break points saved at this event is the highest by any player at a single WTA tournament this season.
