World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka continued her impressive performance at the Mutua Madrid Open, securing a 6-3, 7-5 semifinal victory against No. 17 seed Elina Svitolina at the Caja Magica on Thursday night.
Sabalenka needed 1 hour and 32 minutes to overcome Svitolina, putting an end to the Ukrainian`s flawless clay-court streak this season. Svitolina had been undefeated on clay at WTA events in 2025, winning 9 matches without dropping a set (18-0), until Sabalenka`s victory.
Marquee Final Awaits: The upcoming final on Saturday at this year`s inaugural WTA 1000 clay-court tournament will feature Sabalenka facing No. 4 seed Coco Gauff. Earlier on Thursday, Gauff decisively defeated defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 in just 64 minutes.
Gauff holds a narrow 5-4 head-to-head advantage against Sabalenka. Gauff`s wins include their sole previous clay-court encounter in Rome in 2021 and their most recent match at the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh.
Consistent Success in Madrid: Sabalenka has demonstrated significant dominance at the Mutua Madrid Open in recent years. Her career record at the event now stands at 22-4, having claimed titles in 2021 and 2023 and being a finalist last year.
Furthermore, Sabalenka has solidified her position as the tour leader in match victories this season. Her win against Svitolina made her the first player to achieve 30 main-draw wins at WTA tournaments in 2025.
Key Match Moments: Playing the final match on Court Manolo Santana, Sabalenka built an early 4-1 lead. However, Svitolina battled back, hitting a strong crosscourt backhand return to break serve and narrow the gap to 4-3.
Nevertheless, Svitolina faced three break points in the subsequent game and double-faulted on the third, swiftly conceding the advantage back to Sabalenka.
Serving for the first set at 5-3, Sabalenka delivered two superb serves and a backhand winner to fend off three break points. She then hit her fourth ace of the match to reach set point, sealing the set with another unreturned serve.
By the time Sabalenka held a 5-3 lead in the second set, victory for the World No. 1 appeared almost inevitable. Despite facing pressure in several previous service games, Sabalenka had consistently found ways to escape trouble.
However, this pattern broke at 5-4 when she struggled while serving for the match, allowing Svitolina to break back and level the score. Svitolina`s moment was brief, as Sabalenka responded immediately by crushing a backhand to secure another break for a 6-5 lead.
Serving for the match for the second time, Sabalenka avoided repeating her previous error. The top seed quickly raced to a 40-0 lead and converted her second match point with a final backhand that prompted an error from Svitolina.
Throughout this tournament, Sabalenka has demonstrated remarkable resilience when facing break points, saving five out of seven against Svitolina. Overall, she has saved 39 break points at this event, which is the highest number for any player in a single WTA tournament this season.
Jasper Hawthorne 
Dominic Ashworth