Aryna Sabalenka powered through a one‑hour and 25‑minute match on Saturday to book her place in the Madrid Open round of 16, defeating Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 6-1, 6-4. The Belarusian, who entered the tournament as the defending champion, will now meet Naomi Osaka in the next round, a clash that could decide who moves on to the quarter‑finals. Sabalenka, currently the world No.

1, has compiled an impressive run of 14 consecutive victories on the WTA Tour. After the win she praised her own level, especially in the opening set, saying, "I played at an incredible level, particularly in the first set. I even hit a one‑handed backhand, which is a little bit crazy – that was probably the shot of my life." In the doubles draw, veteran Venus Williams celebrated her first triumph since the US Open by partnering with Britain's Katie Boulter. The pair accepted a last‑minute invitation to team up at the Madrid Open and turned the tables after dropping the first set, eventually prevailing 4-6, 6-3, [10-7] over the Chinese duo of Jiang Xinyu and Xu Yifan.

Williams, 45, has endured a ten‑match losing streak in singles at the event, but her doubles success marks a welcome return to winning ways after a hiatus since the US Open quarter‑finals with Leylah Fernandez last summer. Boulter expressed her delight, noting, "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." The tournament also saw a dramatic exit from former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who withdrew in tears during her third‑round match against Ann Li.

Swiatek, who has yet to progress beyond a quarter‑final this season, revealed she was battling a virus that left her feeling feverish and weak. After losing the first two games of the decisive set, she checked her temperature and blood pressure, took medication, and tried to continue. However, she appeared lethargic and fell behind Li 6-7 (4), 6-2, 0-3, 0-30 before conceding the match.

"The last two days have been terrible," Swiatek said. "I think I have a virus.

Some hours I'm 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." Swiatek admitted she felt dizzy and unable to coordinate her movements in the third set, adding that she couldn't drink because she felt constantly full and her energy plummeted.

She reflected on her decision to play despite feeling ill: "I knew it would be hard, but I still wanted to try. In the third set I started feeling a little bit dizzy and not really coordinated. I couldn't really drink anything because I just felt like I'm full constantly, and the energy went down drastically." The Polish star will now focus on recuperating ahead of the Italian Open in Rome next month, where she hopes to regain form under the guidance of new coach Francisco Roig before the French Open. "It's sad that I can't play because I was feeling good with my game and was making progress," she lamented.

"The tournament has just started. I couldn't even compete today, so it's disappointing." On the men's side, second seed Alexander Zverev dropped a set to Argentina's Mariano Navone but rebounded to win 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, securing his place in the next round.

Defending champion Casper Ruud dominated Spain's Jaume Munar with a 6-0, 6-1 victory, while third seed Felix Auger‑Aliassime also advanced to the third round. The Madrid Open continues to showcase high‑level tennis across both the ATP and WTA tours, with live coverage available on Sky Sports, the NOW streaming service, and the Sky Sports app. Fans can enjoy a broad array of matches, highlights, and exclusive video content, offering more than half again as much live sport this year at no extra cost for Sky Sports subscribers.