A thrilling Mutua Madrid Open has come to a close and we’re left with some unforgettable memories and special moments that took place both on and off the court.

Here’s what we learned from the 2025 edition of the tournament…

Sabalenka a class apart

In eight tournaments so far this season, Aryna Sabalenka has made six finals and won three of them. The world No.1 joined Petra Kvitova as the only women to clinch a hat-trick of titles in Madrid and she’s now over 4,300 points clear of her closest rival in the rankings.

Before the start of this year’s Mutua Madrid Open, Sabalenka said she always found Roland Garros particularly challenging. Will she feel differently heading to Paris this year, given her impressive run of form?

“I hope it’s going to be different,” she said on Saturday with a laugh. “Honestly, I just have more confidence in my game on the clay court. I had really tough battles in the past in the last stages of the tournament. I was there in the semis and I was like really close to make it to the finals.

“I’m just going to go out there and compete and fight. Physically and mentally I’m ready to work for every point as much as I have to work, and I really hope that this year is going to be different.”

Ruud finds his mojo at the right time

During the Mutua Madrid Open, Casper Ruud opened up about his recent mental struggles, revealing he had been suffering from burnout this season, which was affecting him on court.

The Norwegian explained that he sought help and felt the immediate effect of the mental work he has been doing.

After briefly dropping out of the top 10 – he entered Madrid at No.15 – Ruud is back up to No.7 in the world, thanks to his impressive run to a maiden Masters 1000 title in the Spanish capital.

Ruud, a former world No.2, reached a host of big finals before he lifted the trophy in Madrid. After placing runner-up three times at the Grand Slams, twice at Masters 1000s, and once at the ATP Finals, the Norwegian finally gets to go home with the bigger trophy, and as he said in his on-court interview, “it’s been a long time coming”.

He heads to Rome as the tour leader in clay wins (125), finals (18) and titles (12) since the start of 2020, and among the favourites for the Roland Garros crown.

Gauff rockets into top-eight in the Race

Coco Gauff entered the championship match against Sabalenka holding a stunning 10-1 record in finals. The only tour-level final the American had lost in her professional career was at 2022 Roland Garros against Iga Swiatek.

Sabalenka snapped Gauff’s eight-match winning streak in finals but Gauff still has plenty of positives to take from her fortnight at the Caja Magica.

The 21-year-old was at No.12 in the WTA Race to Riyadh at the start of the tournament and will now vault into the top-eight thanks to her exploits in Madrid, landing at No.6.

Gauff is also back to No.3 in the world rankings, within a whisker of Swiatek (only 170 points separate them).

“Speaking on the week as a whole, on the ground I think today was like the only day where I felt really tested, and obviously in my first round, too. So there’s a lot of positives to take, and I think especially coming maybe from the last few weeks where I didn’t feel as confident on the ground, I think it is a step in the right direction,” Gauff said after the final.

Jack can clay

Jack Draper did not drop a set en route to the first clay final of his career in Madrid, navigating a tough draw that saw him defeat Tallon Griekspoor, Matteo Berrettini, Tommy Paul, Matteo Arnaldi, and Lorenzo Musetti, before falling to Ruud in high-quality three-set championship match.

His reward isn’t just a top-five debut – joining Nadal as the only left-handers to rank inside the top-five this century – but more importantly the belief he can be as dangerous on clay as he is on other surfaces.

“I knew I was good on the clay. I had a couple of really tight losses last year, and I just needed to get my foot in the door somewhere to show that I’m able to compete to a really high level on this surface,” the Brit said on Sunday.

“I think this week has shown that, and it’s shown it to myself, shown it to others. I think still the biggest positive I’m taking away is the fact that I’m still learning how to move and play on this surface, and I’m right there. I’m competing with, you know, the best clay courters, the best guys on this surface in the world.”

Swiatek heads to the drawing board

Despite dealing with personal problems ahead of the tournament and struggling with her movement on court throughout the week, last year’s champion, Swiatek, battled her way to the semi-finals, before falling to Gauff.

The Pole’s search for her best game and a first title of the season continues, and she will most certainly do everything in her power to be ready for Roland Garros.

“Next week, next tournament, another challenges and hopes ahead,” she wrote on Instagram.

Musetti strengthens RG contender credentials

Italian Lorenzo Musetti lost a close two-setter to Draper in the semi-finals but showed great form throughout the tournament and walked away from Madrid as a top-10 player for the first time in his career.

The 23-year-old made the final four without dropping a set, and knocked out the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alex de Minaur en route.

With a final in Monte Carlo and semi-finals in Madrid under his belt, Musetti’s confidence is sky-high and he’ll no doubt be considered a serious contender at Roland Garros.

Consistent Cerundolo a real threat

Francisco Cerundolo had consistently made deep runs at tournaments this year and Madrid was no exception.

The Argentine is tied with Carlos Alcaraz and Alex de Minaur for most victories in 2025 (with 24) and his performance at the Caja Magica saw him reach his fourth semi-final of the season, knocking out top-seeded Alexander Zverev along the way.

Cerundolo leads the tour with 16 clay-wins this year and he is the first South American to reach Masters 1000 semi-finals on multiple surfaces since Juan Martin del Potro achieved that feat in Miami and Madrid back in 2009.

The 26-year-old hits a career-high No.18 in the world on Monday and given his fourth-round showings at Roland Garros in 2023 and 2024, will fancy his chances of doing even better in Paris this year.

Uchijima, Diallo make a statement

Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima and Canada’s Gabriel Diallo reached the biggest quarter-finals of their careers with breakthrough runs at the Caja Magica.

Uchijima, who started the tournament ranked No.56 in the world, upset three consecutive seeds, including 2022 finalists Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula (her first top-10 win), to make the quarters at a Masters 1000 event for the first time.

She fell to Elina Svitolina in the last-eight stage but makes her top-50 debut on Monday.

Meanwhile, Diallo arrived in Madrid at a career-high 78 in the world and lost to Borna Coric in the final round of qualifying.

The 23-year-old Canadian got into the main draw as a lucky loser and booked his place in the quarter-finals by saving three match points in a big upset win over No.15 seed Grigor Dimitrov.

He hits another career-high as a result, moving up to No.54 in the rankings.