The winners’ circle at the Mutua Madrid Open has always been exclusively reserved for the best players on the planet, both in the men’s and women’s game. Of the ten WTA players to have lifted the trophy in the Caja Magica, six have been world No. 1s. 

In the very recent history of the Spanish capital’s WTA 1000, it has been established as a fervent battleground for the incredible rivalry at the pinnacle of women’s tennis between Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek. In 2023 and 2024 they both reached the final, taking home one trophy apiece. 

Sabalenka is, without a doubt, the dominant force in recent editions of the Madrid event. Since the start of her charge to the throne in 2021 she has a win-loss record of 17-2, in other words she has won 89.4% of those matches. Only Amanda Anisimova (first round in 2022) and Swiatek (2024 final) have managed to defeat her. 

A potent serve and the ferocity of her groundstrokes make Sabalenka a candidate to the throne every season. In the Caja Magica she has established a reign that has only been dented by the surface’s greatest specialist, who in 2025 is ready to mount her defence. 

“Women’s tennis needs this kind of consistency between the No. 1 and No. 2, meeting in finals. I think tennis is more entertaining for fans and more intense”, said Sabalenka after winning her second title in Madrid. “When people see finals like this, they want to have that battle. It’s incredible, hopefully we can keep doing it this season”.

Just as the three-time Grand Slam champion hoped, she once again clashed with the world No. 1 in the 2024 final. However, while their first duel went her way, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, last season, having watched a match point slip through her fingers, she succumbed to the Pole in a dramatic third-set tiebreak, 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7). 

Swiatek, who has been the top seed in Madrid since 2022, only needed the Mutua Madrid Open trophy to complete her collection of big clay titles. The four-time French Open winner and champion of Rome and Stuttgart had her sights firmly set on Madrid. 

In 2024, she became the sixth WTA No. 1 to add her name to the tournament’s roll of honour, along with Sabalenka herself, Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams and Dinara Safina. 

Safina started the trend 

The first edition of the Mutua Madrid Open, held in the Caja Magica in 2009, when the women’s competition began, set the tone for years to come. The decider was disputed by two players who have both been world number ones at some point in their careers; Dinara Safina and Caroline Wozniacki. 

At the time, Safina was atop the WTA Ranking and she came good on her number-one seeding, leaving a number of clay specialists in her wake, such as Na Li, Lucie Safarova and Wozniacki herself, who was the ninth seed. After a 6-2, 6-4 victory, Madrid had its first queen. 

Serena defends for the first time 

The elder of the Williams sisters, Venus, had fallen at the final hurdle in 2010, but Serena avenged her sister’s defeat two years later. In 2012, on a carpet of blue clay, the American, who started her campaign seeded ninth, ended up claiming her first Madrid crown. 

In the final, against world No. 1 Victoria Azarenka, she powered her way to a 6-1, 6-3 victory. One year later, Serena was back as the best player in the world – she spent a total of 319 weeks as number one – and became the first to defend a title in the Caja Magica. In the final the American defeated another player who had reached the pinnacle of the game in Maria Sharapova, 6-1, 6-4.

Sharapova joins the big names 

One season later, having lost that final to Serena, she was back in the title match. In 2014, Sharapova was seed number 8, while Williams was number 1, but the American legend bowed out in the quarterfinals.  

Sharapova, who was the world number one for 21 weeks of her career, had a magical tournament, beating Li Na (quarterfinal), Agnieszka Radwanska (semifinal) and Simona Halep (final) to add her name to the club of world No. 1 champions in Madrid. 

Halep, the great dominator 

If there is one player who was a perfect match for the Caja Magica, it was Simona Halep. The Romanian holds the record for the most finals played (4) and won a total of 30 matches. Her empire in the Spanish capital was established in 2016 and 2017. 

In 2016, as the sixth seed, she claimed her first crown in Madrid, defeating Dominika Cibulkova 6-2, 6-4 in the final. One year later she was back, seeded No. 3, with an unforgettable title bout against ante Kristina Mladenovic, which she eventually won 7-5, 6-7(5), 6-2. That 2017 season Halep climbed to No. 1 in the WTA Rankings. 

Outside the select club 

Besides those six players, who have won the Mutua Madrid Open and occupied the world No. 1 spot, there are four names who know what it is to reign in the Caja Magica without being a member of the select club. The first of them was Aravane Rezai, the lowest ranked player (No. 15) to get her hands on the trophy. 

Petra Kvitova came very close to the pinnacle of the sport at No. 2 in the world. However, in Madrid she had no equals; nobody has more titles than the Czech in the Spanish capital with three (2011, 2015, 2018). Ons Jabeur, who triumphed in 2022 reached No. 5 in the world, while Kiki Bertens, the 2019 champion, peaked at No. 10.