Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff renewed their rivalry for the first time this season in Saturday's Madrid final. With a 6-3, 7-6(3) victory, Sabalenka leveled their high-profile head-to-head at 5-5 and won her third title in the Spanish capital.
The matchup was the first final meeting between world No. 1 Sabalenka and Gauff since the American's three-set victory in the 2023 US Open final. They met in three semifinals last season, with the winner going on to win the title at the Australian Open (Sabalenka), Wuhan (Sabalenka) and the WTA Finals (Gauff).
While Sabalenka strengthened her position atop the WTA rankings—she now leads No. 2 Iga Swiatek by 4,345 points—Gauff moved up to world No. 3 with her final run, passing Jessica Pegula to reclaim her status as the top-ranked American. With victory in the final, Gauff would have leapfrogged Swiatek to return to her career-high ranking of No. 2. The 21-year-old has lost just twice in 11 WTA singles finals, with the other defeat coming to Swiatek in the 2022 Roland Garros final.
Sabalenka, who used her improved variety to win her first US Open title last summer in New York, again complemented her power game with a well-rounded attack in Madrid.
"I've been working really hard and improving my game on bringing variety into my game," said Sabalenka, who is 6-0 against Top 10 opponents this season. "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," she added with a laugh.
On the men's side, Casper Ruud outlasted Jack Draper, 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, to win the biggest title of his career in Madrid. The 2022 US Open finalist is now a 13-time singles champion at tour-level.
“It feels great, of course. It’s been a long time coming,” Ruud said of his first ATP Masters 1000 title. “[This was] one of the really big goals I dreamed about when I was young, so it’s an incredible feeling to accomplish it. Also the way I did it today, it was a great match. I knew Jack had been playing unbelievable all year, and especially in this tournament, so I knew that if I didn’t bring my A-plus game, I was going to be whooped around the court.”
Two weeks after dropping outside the Top 10, Ruud climbed back into that elite group at No. 7 behind his trophy run. Great Britain's Draper moved up one place to No. 5, passing Novak Djokovic, by reaching his second Masters 1000 final of the season.
