On Saturday, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka will face World No. 4 Coco Gauff in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open, the fifth WTA 1000 event of the 2025 season.
Sabalenka reaches her 37th career final, her 10th on clay, and the sixth of her eight tournaments played in 2025. This season, she has already claimed titles in Brisbane and Miami and finished as runner-up at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Stuttgart. The World No. 1 boasts a tour-leading 30 victories this year, holding an overall record of 30 wins and 5 losses.
Gauff makes her 11th career final appearance, her third on clay (and first since the 2022 Roland Garros), and her first final since winning the 2024 WTA Finals in Riyadh. Her season record stands at 19 wins and 6 losses.
Match Details
The women`s singles final is scheduled for Saturday, May 3, not before 6:30 p.m. CEST (12:30 p.m. ET) at the Caja Mágica in Madrid. The doubles final will follow on Sunday, May 4.
Madrid operates on Central European Summer Time (GMT +2).
Points and Prize Money
By reaching the Madrid final, both Sabalenka and Gauff have guaranteed themselves 650 PIF WTA Ranking points and €523,870 in prize money.
The champion on Saturday will earn a total of 1,000 points and €985,030.
Sabalenka is certain to retain her World No. 1 ranking regardless of the outcome. Gauff has the opportunity to move up to World No. 2 if she wins the title.
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 at 2 hours and 34 minutes.
- 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 marked Swiatek’s fewest games won in a clay match since 2019.
Notable Stats and Streaks
- Gauff could become only the second player this century to win a WTA title after losing her first set 6–0 (Angelique Kerber did it at Linz 2013).
- The last player to achieve this feat at a WTA 1000/Tier I event was Arantxa Sánchez Vicario at Hilton Head in 1996.
Head-to-Head Comparison
Gauff holds a 5-4 lead in their overall head-to-head record. On clay, Gauff leads 1-0, and she also leads 1-0 in previous finals.
Their first encounter was in the second round of Lexington in 2020, where the then-ranked No. 53 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 responded later that year in the second round of Ostrava, overcoming a 5-2 deficit in the third set to defeat Gauff 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(2).
Their only previous clay court match took place in 2021 in the third round of Rome, where Gauff ended Sabalenka`s seven-match winning streak with a 7-5, 6-3 win.
Since then, all their matchups have been on hard courts. In 2022, Gauff triumphed 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(4) in the third round of Toronto after trailing 3-0 in the third set. In 2023, they split victories: Sabalenka won decisively 6-4, 6-0 in the first round of Indian Wells, but Gauff secured her first Grand Slam title by defeating Sabalenka 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the US Open final.
In 2024, all three meetings were in semifinals. Sabalenka won 7-6(2), 6-4 at the Australian Open before claiming her second major title. She also came back from a set and 4-2 down to beat Gauff 1-6, 6-4, 6-4 in Wuhan. However, Gauff won their most recent match 7-6(4), 6-3 at the WTA Finals in Riyadh en route to winning the tournament.
Milestones at Stake
Sabalenka is set to play in her fourth Madrid final, tying Simona Halep for the most finals reached at this tournament since its inception in 2009. She aims to capture her third Madrid trophy, which would tie Petra Kvitova (2011, 2015, 2018) for the most titles won here. 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 the tournament`s history, trailing only Caroline Wozniacki, who was 18 when she was runner-up in 2009.
Sabalenka holds an undefeated 5-0 record against Top 10 opponents in 2025 in completed matches – a feat not achieved by any player in the first four months of a season since Serena Williams in 2014. She is also the first player to reach six finals within the first four months of a season (counting from the tournament start date) since Martina Hingis in 2001.
Gauff has a 2-1 record against Top 10 opponents this year, with both wins coming 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, via retirement), Swiatek (Cincinnati 2023), and Sabalenka (2024 WTA Finals Riyadh).
Gauff aims to improve her impressive 9-1 record in career finals; her sole loss was to Swiatek at Roland Garros 2022. A win would give Gauff her 10th title from 11 finals. In the Open Era, only Nancy Richey and Anna Smashnova reached this record in fewer finals (both won their first 10 finals).
Between 2020 and 2024, only six players managed to defeat both Sabalenka and Swiatek in the same tournament. However, in the first four months of 2025 alone, three players have already accomplished this double victory.
Gauff could become the first player to defeat both Sabalenka and Swiatek in the same tournament on two separate occasions. A Gauff win 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 tournament.
