Rybakina back from the brink to reach semis
If you look up the word ‘clutch’ in the dictionary, you’ll probably find Elena Rybakina’s name right next to it. Since losing to Anna Blinkova at the Australian Open in January, Rybakina has not lost a deciding set on tour, winning all 12 she has contested, including a wild one against Yulia Putintseva on Wednesday […]
Thank you, Rafa
Rafael Nadal has played his last match in the Manolo Santana Stadium. The news may take some time to sink in around the tennis world. One of the greatest athletes of all time has brought an end to his home career, with the entire Caja Magica on its feet as he bade them farewell. If […]
Alcaraz moves the goalposts
Carlitos made no bones about his goals here at the start of the week. The mission in Madrid was part of a grander plan, to play three or four matches to help him recover his fitness and pick up some competitive court time. The fear of a relapse was looming large at the back of […]
Alcaraz steals another epic in Madrid
“I missed this so much”. What Carlos Alcaraz scrawled on the camera straight after the match perfectly summed up his Tuesday afternoon in the Manolo Santana Stadium. To earn a place among the last eight at the Mutua Madrid Open, the Spaniard had to unpick the game of Jan-Lennard Struff in a rematch of last […]
Swiatek seals her passage to the semis
Iga Swiatek is in the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals after beating Maia Haddad 4-6, 6-0, 6-2. Before today’s tie, the Pole had only dropped eight games in the tournament, leaving in her wake the likes of Sara Sorribes, Sorana Cirstea and Xiyu Wang. The world No. 1 was starting to look more like a repetitive […]
Sabalenka survives Collins’ streak
Collins-Sabalenka. Probably one of the matches so far at the 2024 Mutua Madrid Open. Two high-speed trains collided head on in the final match of the Manolo Santana Stadium night session and the result was spectacular. After almost two and a half hours of tennis, Aryna Sabalenka brought Danielle Collins’ streak to an end with […]
Andreeva, a new star in Madrid
It was with rosy cheeks and a nervous smile that Mirra Andreeva spoke to the press after equalling her best performance in the WTA event (quarter-finals) by defeating Jasmine Paolini 7-6, 6-4. Nine years separate the birthday girl (17) from her Italian opponent (28), but once they started knocking up, all the innocence of the […]
Nadal’s heart keeps beating in Madrid
The Manolo Santana Stadium held its breath and Rafael Nadal rewarded it with a lungful of oxygen. The Spaniard progressed to the fourth round in the Caja Magica on Monday after a dramatic match, ensuring he will have another chance to keep his fans on the edges of their seats. On a packed centre court, […]
Madison Keys makes a statement in the Arantxa Sánchez Vicario Stadium
Coco Gauff began her campaign in Madrid this year like a force of nature. She arrived at the Mutua Madrid Open as the third seed and one of the best players of the year and only dropped five games in her first two matches of the tournament. The American has been in frightening form. However, […]
Being an inspiration fuels Swiatek
Iga Swiatek shot to stardom almost overnight. She started the 2020 Roland Garros tournament as an unseeded teenager ranked 54 in the world and finished it as Poland’s first ever Grand Slam singles champion. The rest, as they say, is history, as Swiatek penned more chapters to her storied career – from winning more majors, […]
