Aryna Sabalenka powered through a one‑hour and 25‑minute match on Saturday to secure a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Romania's Jaqueline Cristian, earning her a spot in the round of 16 at the Madrid Open. The Belarusian, who entered the tournament as the defending champion, will now meet Naomi Osaka in the next round, a clash that promises to determine who will move on to the quarter‑finals.
Sabalenka, who currently holds the world No. 1 ranking, has built an impressive streak of 14 consecutive wins across all surfaces.
After the match she reflected on her performance, saying, "The first set was especially amazing for me. I even managed to hit a one‑handed backhand, which is a bit crazy for me. That shot felt like the best one I've ever hit, no doubt about it." Her confidence and aggressive baseline play were on full display, allowing her to dominate Cristian from the start and never look back.
In the doubles draw, veteran American Venus Williams celebrated her first triumph since the US Open, partnering with Britain's Katie Boulter. The pair entered the tournament as a last‑minute pairing after Boulter asked Williams to team up for the event. Despite dropping the opening set 4-6 to China's Jiang Xinyu and Xu Yifan, Williams and Boulter rallied to take the second set 6-3 and then clinched the match tie‑break 10-7, advancing to the next round.
Williams, 45, has endured a ten‑match losing streak in singles at the Madrid Open, having fallen in the first round again this year. Her doubles form, however, had been dormant since reaching the US Open quarter‑finals with Leylah Fernandez last summer, making this win a refreshing comeback. Boulter expressed her enthusiasm about the partnership, stating, "It was great, it was so much fun. Being on the same side of the net with a legend like Venus is a privilege – I definitely don’t want to be on the opposite side.
Playing with her was an amazing experience and I enjoyed every minute of it." Their chemistry on court was evident as they turned the match around with aggressive net play and solid baseline exchanges. The tournament also saw a dramatic moment for former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who was forced to retire from her third‑round encounter with American Ann Li due to illness. Swiatek, who has struggled to move past the quarter‑final stage in any event this season, revealed after the match that she was battling a virus.
She reported feeling feverish and experiencing fluctuating blood pressure, prompting her to have her vitals checked after losing the first two games of the deciding set. Despite taking medication and attempting to continue, she appeared fatigued and withdrew while trailing 6-7(4), 6-2, 0-3, 0-30, leaving the court in tears.
"The last two days have been terrible," Swiatek said, describing her condition. "I think I have a virus. Some hours I'm fine, other hours I'm really bad.
I heard there might be a virus circulating among the players here. I'm sure I'll recover in a few days, but I had zero energy today.
Yesterday was even worse. I hoped today would be better, but it still wasn't enough to play a full match." Swiatek had shown signs of a comeback after dropping a tightly contested first set, but her physical state deteriorated rapidly in the third set.
When asked if she had considered not stepping onto the court at all, the fourth seed admitted, "I knew it would be hard, but I still wanted to try. In the third set I started feeling dizzy and uncoordinated.
I couldn't drink anything because I felt constantly full, and my energy plummeted." Looking ahead, Swiatek will focus on recuperation before turning her attention to the upcoming Italian Open in Rome, where she hopes to regain form under the guidance of her new coach Francisco Roig ahead of the French Open. "It's sad that I can't play because I felt good with my game and was making progress," she lamented.
"The tournament just started, and I couldn't even compete today, which is disappointing." On the men's side, second seed Alexander Zverev faced a brief setback, dropping the second set to Argentina's Mariano Navone before rallying to win 6-1, 3-6, 6-3. Defending champion Casper Ruud continued his dominant run with a 6-0, 6-1 dismantling of Spain's Jaume Munar, while third seed Felix Auger‑Aliassime also progressed to the third round without dropping a set.
The Madrid Open continues to deliver high‑quality tennis across both the ATP and WTA tours, with matches available to stream via Sky Sports, the NOW platform, or the Sky Sports app. Fans can enjoy live coverage, highlights, and in‑depth analysis as the tournament moves deeper into its schedule, promising more thrilling encounters and potential upsets in the days ahead.