When Aryna Sabalenka was told that she had just booked herself a spot in the final for a fourth consecutive tournament with her win over Elina Svitolina on Thursday, the world No.1 was legitimately surprised.
“I wasn’t even thinking about that. It sounds crazy,” said Sabalenka when the interviewer told her she made finals in Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart and now Madrid.
“I’m just super grateful for every opportunity I have and honestly that’s crazy that I’m playing at such a high level; just wow!”
‘Wow’ is definitely an appropriate reaction.
Sabalenka has contested eight tournaments so far in 2025, and has reached the final in six of them.
The 26-year-old is through to a third straight Mutua Madrid Open final – fourth overall – and is looking to join Petra Kvitova as the only women to claim a hat-trick in the Spanish capital.
“I’m just super excited every time I’m coming here. I just love playing in this stadium, I enjoy the support, I enjoy the battles here and I’m super happy to be in another final. Hopefully I can do a little bit better than last year,” said Sabalenka, who lost to Iga Swiatek in last year’s championship match.
Standing in Sabalenka’s way is a familiar foe, fourth-seeded Coco Gauff, who punched her ticket to a maiden Madrid final with a dominant 6-1, 6-1 result against Swiatek.
Sabalenka is 5-0 against top-10 players so far this season but trails Gauff 4-5 in their head-to-head.
The pair have shared the stage at some of the biggest tournaments in the world – like last year’s WTA Finals and the 2023 US Open final – and Madrid will witness their 10th showdown in five years.
“We had a lot of great battles against each other and very tough ones, very close ones. I’ll just go out there and fight for every point. That’s the best preparation to have against someone like Coco,” said Sabalenka.
Gauff’s fortnight in Madrid started unceremoniously, getting bagelled by Dayana Yastremska in a late-night second round clash.
The 21-year-old American hasn’t dropped a set since, and carries a stunning 10-1 record in finals entering Saturday’s duel with Sabalenka.
Before her final opponent was determined, Gauff was already looking forward to a potential date with Sabalenka.
“Obviously Aryna is world No.1, so it would be cool to play her in the final and give myself that challenge,” said Gauff.
Victory on Saturday would lift Gauff to a career-high No.2 in the world, moving ahead of Swiatek and Jessica Pegula.
While a top-two seeding at Roland Garros is an appealing prospect, Gauff admits her sights are set on one number, and one number only when it comes to the rankings.
“I’m going to be honest, it’s not important to me, honestly,” said Gauff at the possibility of taking over the No.2 spot.
“The only number that would mean a lot to me is 1 at this point. Anything anywhere else is just a number.
“Obviously it’s a reward for the work that I’m doing and the consistency that I’m showing, but it’s not something that I think about or have a goal to reach.”
Gauff is the second-youngest player to reach the Madrid final, older only than Caroline Wozniacki, who was the runner-up to Dinara Safina in 2009.
No stranger to setting new records related to her age – given she broke through at 15 – Gauff thought all the “youngest” stats were behind her now that she is over 21.
“I’ll ride it as long as I can,” she joked.
“Overall, I’m just happy to be in the final of this tournament. I’ve been coming here, and I don’t think I’ve ever made it out of the fourth round, so just happy to improve and reach this stage.”
