The Mutua Madrid Open final, the fifth WTA 1000 event of the 2024 season, is set for Saturday, featuring World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka and World No. 4 Coco Gauff.
Player Overview
Aryna Sabalenka is competing in her 37th career final, her 10th on clay, and her sixth final appearance of 2024 out of eight tournaments played. This season, she has already secured titles in Brisbane and Miami and was a finalist at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Stuttgart. Sabalenka leads the tour with 30 victories this year, holding an impressive 30-5 record overall.
Coco Gauff reaches her 11th career final, her third on clay (her first since Roland Garros 2022), and her first final since winning the 2023 WTA Finals in Riyadh. Her season record currently stands at 19-6.
Final Details
The women`s singles final is scheduled for Saturday, May 3, not before 6:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST), which is 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). The match will take place at the Caja Mágica in Madrid. Madrid operates on GMT +2. The doubles final will follow on Sunday, May 4 at 3:30 p.m. CEST (9:30 a.m. ET).
Points and Prize Money
Both finalists, Sabalenka and Gauff, have guaranteed themselves 650 PIF WTA Ranking points and €523,870 in prize money for reaching this stage in Madrid.
The champion on Saturday will earn a total of 1,000 ranking points and a prize of €985,030.
Following the final, Sabalenka is guaranteed to maintain her position as World No. 1. Gauff has the potential to ascend to World No. 2 if she emerges victorious.
Road to the Final
Aryna Sabalenka (Lost only one set en route)
- 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 2024 so far, lasting 2 hours and 34 minutes. Sabalenka saved one set point in the first set and three in the second.
- Defeated No. 17 Elina Svitolina 6–3, 7–5
Coco Gauff (Lost only one set en route)
- 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. Gauff saved two set points in the first set.
- Defeated No. 2 Iga Swiatek 6–1, 6–1. This marked Swiatek’s fewest games won in a clay match since 2019.
Notable Stats and Streaks
- Gauff could become just the second player this century to win a WTA title after losing her first set 6–0 in the opening match. Angelique Kerber achieved this at Linz in 2013.
- The last player to accomplish this feat at a WTA 1000 (formerly Tier I) event was Arantxa Sánchez Vicario at Hilton Head in 1996.
Head-to-Head Record
Gauff currently holds a 5-4 lead in their career head-to-head meetings. This includes a 1-0 advantage on clay courts and a 1-0 lead 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 the No. 2 seed Sabalenka with a 7-6(4), 4-6, 6-4 victory. Sabalenka leveled the score later that year in the second round of Ostrava, fighting back from a 5-2 deficit in the third set to win 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(2).
Their sole previous clay meeting occurred in the Rome third round in 2021, where Gauff ended Sabalenka`s seven-match winning streak with a 7-5, 6-3 win.
Since 2021, all their matches have been on hard courts. In the 2022 Toronto third round, Gauff triumphed 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) after trailing 3-0 in the third set. In 2023, they split results: Sabalenka decisively won 6-4, 6-0 in the Indian Wells first round, but Gauff claimed her maiden Grand Slam title by defeating Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the US Open final.
Their three meetings in 2024 have all been in semifinals. Sabalenka edged Gauff 7-6(2), 6-4 at the Australian Open en route to her second major title. She also defeated the American 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Wuhan after being a set and 4-2 down. However, Gauff won their most recent match 7-6(4), 6-3 at the 2023 WTA Finals Riyadh, where she went on to win the title.
Key Milestones at Stake
Sabalenka is reaching her fourth Madrid final, matching Simona Halep for the most finals appearances since the tournament began in 2009. She aims to win her third title here, which would tie her with Petra Kvitova (2011, 2015, 2018) for the most Madrid trophies. Sabalenka previously won in 2021 and 2023 and was the runner-up to Iga Swiatek in 2024.
At 20 years old, Gauff is the second-youngest Madrid finalist in tournament history, behind only Caroline Wozniacki, who was 18 when she finished runner-up in 2009.
Sabalenka boasts an undefeated 5-0 record against Top 10 opponents in 2024 in completed matches, a feat not achieved by any player since Serena Williams in 2014. She is also the first player since Martina Hingis in 2001 to reach six finals in the first four months of a single season.
Gauff holds a 2-1 record against Top 10 opponents this year, with both wins occurring this week against Andreeva and Swiatek. She is seeking her fourth career win over a reigning World No. 1, having previously defeated Ashleigh Barty (Rome 2021, via retirement), Swiatek (Cincinnati 2023), and Sabalenka (2023 WTA Finals Riyadh).
Gauff aims to improve her remarkable 9-1 record in career finals. Her only loss came against Swiatek at Roland Garros 2022. If she wins, she would claim her 10th title in her 11th final. In the Open Era, only Nancy Richey and Anna Smashnova reached this record in fewer finals (both won their first 10 finals).
From 2020 to 2023, only six players defeated 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 (2023 WTA Finals Riyadh). However, in the first four months of 2024 alone, three players have already achieved this double victory: Madison Keys (Australian Open), Mirra Andreeva (Dubai), and Jelena Ostapenko (Stuttgart).
Gauff could become the first player to defeat both Sabalenka and Swiatek in the same tournament on two separate occasions. A victory for Gauff would also mark the first calendar year in the Open Era where four different players have defeated both the World No. 1 and World No. 2 in the same event.
Dominic Ashworth 
Jasper Hawthorne