Aryna Sabalenka powered through her second‑round match in Madrid on Saturday, dispatching Romania's Jaqueline Cristian in straight sets, 6-1 6-4, in just one hour and twenty‑five minutes. The Belarusian, who entered the tournament as the defending champion, will now meet fellow former Grand Slam winner Naomi Osaka in the round of 16, with a place in the quarter‑finals on the line.
Sabalenka, who currently sits atop the WTA rankings and has compiled a remarkable streak of fourteen consecutive victories, reflected on her performance after the match. "The first set was especially impressive for me," she said.
"I even managed a one‑handed backhand, which is a bit crazy for me – that shot felt like the highlight of my career." The day also featured a notable doubles story. Veteran American Venus Williams, 45, celebrated her first win since the US Open by teaming up with Britain's Katie Boulter. The pair, who had only agreed to play together at the last minute, rallied from a set down to defeat China's Jiang Xinyu and Xu Yifan 4-6 6-3 (10-7) in the opening round. Williams, who has endured a ten‑match losing streak in singles at the Madrid Open, had not captured a doubles victory since reaching the US Open quarter‑finals with Leylah Fernandez the previous summer.
Boulter expressed her delight at the partnership, saying, "It was great, it was so much fun. To share the court with Venus was a privilege – I didn't want to be on the opposite side of the net. I enjoyed every minute of it." Meanwhile, the tournament took a dramatic turn when former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek withdrew from her third‑round match against Ann Li.
Swiatek, who has struggled to progress beyond the quarter‑final stage this season, announced after losing the first two games of the deciding set that she was battling a virus. She had her temperature and blood pressure checked, took medication, and attempted to continue, but appeared fatigued and dizzy. The Polish star fell behind Li 6-7 (4) 6-2 0-3 0-30 before exiting the court in tears. "The last two days have been terrible," Swiatek said.
"I think I have a virus. Some hours I feel fine, other hours I'm really bad. I heard there might be something circulating among the players here.
I'm sure I'll recover in a few days, but I had zero energy. Yesterday was even worse, and today I hoped it would improve, but not enough to play." When asked if she had considered not stepping onto the court at all, the fourth seed replied, "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 dropped dramatically." Swiatek will now focus on recuperation before turning her attention to the Italian Open in Rome next month, where she hopes to regain form under new coach Francisco Roig ahead of the French Open.
"It's sad that I can't play because I was feeling good with my game and making progress," she lamented. "The tournament just started, and I couldn't even compete today – it's disappointing." On the men's side, second seed Alexander Zverev dropped a set to Argentina's Mariano Navone but rallied to win 6-1 3-6 6-3, securing his place in the next round.
Defending champion Casper Ruud cruised past Spain's Jaume Munar with a dominant 6-0 6-1 victory, while third seed Felix Auger‑Aliassime also advanced to the third round. The Madrid Open continues to deliver high‑stakes tennis across both tours, with matches available to stream via Sky Sports, the NOW platform, and the Sky Sports app, offering subscribers over 50% more live sport this year at no extra charge.
Fans can also follow live scores, highlights, and video recaps through the tournament's official channels.