Aryna Sabalenka powered through a one‑hour and 25‑minute match on Saturday to book her place in the Madrid Open round of 16, beating 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, who is currently the world No. 1, extended her impressive winning streak to 14 consecutive matches with the victory.
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 was probably the shot of my life." In the doubles draw, veteran Venus Williams enjoyed her first win since the US Open, partnering with Britain's Katie Boulter. The pair accepted a last‑minute invitation to team up for the Madrid Open and turned a one‑set deficit into a triumph, defeating China's Jiang Xinyu and Xu Yifan 4-6, 6-3, [10-7] in the opening round.
Williams, 45, is currently enduring a ten‑match losing streak in singles, having fallen in the first round again this year, and she had not captured a doubles match since reaching the US Open quarter‑finals with Leylah Fernandez last summer. Boulter praised the experience, noting, "It was great, it was so much fun.
Being on the same side of the net with Venus was a privilege – I certainly didn’t want to be on the opposite side. Playing with her was a joy and I cherished every minute." The tournament also saw a dramatic exit from former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, who withdrew in tears during her third‑round encounter with American Ann Li.
Swiatek, who has yet to progress beyond the quarter‑finals at any event this season, disclosed after the match that she was battling a virus. She said medical staff checked her temperature and blood pressure after she dropped the first two games of the deciding set.
Although she took medication and tried to continue, she appeared fatigued and eventually retired while trailing 6-7(4), 6-2, 0-3, 0-30. "The last two days have been terrible," Swiatek said. "I think I have a virus.
Some hours I'm okay, other hours I'm really bad. I heard there might be an illness circulating among players here. I'm sure I'll recover in a few days, but I had zero energy." Swiatek attempted to rally after losing a close opening set, but her physical condition made it impossible to compete at her usual level.
When asked whether she 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." She will now focus on recuperation before turning her attention to the Italian Open in Rome next month, hoping 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," Swiatek lamented. "The tournament has 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 recovered to win 6-1, 3-6, 6-3.
Defending champion Casper Ruud cruised past Spain's Jaume Munar with a dominant 6-0, 6-1 performance, while third seed Felix Auger‑Aliassime also advanced to the third round. The Madrid Open continues to showcase high‑stakes tennis across both tours, with matches available to stream via Sky Sports, the NOW platform, or the Sky Sports app.
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