Coco Gauff hopes to learn from Madrid Open final defeat against Aryna Sabalenka to prepare for Italian Open
Aryna Sabalenka became a three-time Madrid Open champion after registering her fifth victory over Coco Gauff.
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Coco Gauff, Aryna Sabalenka (Image via X/The Tennis Letter)
Coco Gauff‘s bid to claim her first title of the season ended on Saturday (May 4) when Aryna Sabalenka registered her fifth victory over the American in their 10th encounter by clinching a 6-3, 7-6(3) win in the Madrid Open final. With this defeat, Gauff’s hunt for her first singles title since winning the 2024 WTA Finals continues.
Sabalenka has now become a three-time champion in the 2025 season, following her victories at the Brisbane International and the Miami Open Open. By winning the two consecutive WTA 1000 titles in Miami and Madrid, the World No.1 became just the second woman to take home these two titles in a season since Serena Williams in 2013.
Gauff, on the other hand, reached her first singles final this season. Before Madrid, the 21-year-old was unsuccessful in winning more than two matches in the five tournaments she played since losing the Australian Open quarterfinals to Paula Badosa. The 2023 US Open champion will now be preparing for the Italian Open and will be hoping to use her Madrid Open final experience to end her title drought.
I prepare for these matches, and the truth is I hate losing too much. Today was tough, but obviously, I would sign to lose here to win in other places in the future. Every moment is a learning experience, and maybe I needed to feel this defeat to be motivated again for the next challenge.
Coco Gauff said at the press conference
Gauff had played her first clay-court singles final since her defeat to Iga Swiatek in the 2022 French Open final. She is the winner of just one clay-court title, which she lifted at the 2021 Emilia-Romagna Open. Gauff moved into her first Madrid Open final after beating Swiatek in the semifinals and had she lifted the title, she would have toppled Swiatek to become the World No.2 player.
Colin Fleming picks Aryna Sabalenka as the favorite to win the French Open ahead of Iga Swiatek
Iga Swiatek, without any shadow of a doubt, is the best player at present on the red dirt, given that she has lifted four French Opens, including three times on the trot from 2022 to 2024. Former doubles player from Britain, Colin Fleming, however, called Aryna Sabalenka the favorite player to win the French Open ahead of Swiatek even though the reigning US Open champion has not yet reached the final of the clay-court Major.
I think she [Sabalenka] is now pretty firm favorite for Roland Garros, with all that has gone on, as we stand here in Madrid. Before this tournament started, I would still have picked Swiatek as the favorite, despite the fact she was out of form.
Colin Fleming told Sky Sports
Swiatek’s hunt for her first title since winning the 2024 French Open continues. She was expected to defend the title in Madrid and now, she will be hoping to end her trophy drought at the Italian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka becomes a three-time Madrid Open champion
Aryna Sabalenka, so far in her career, has lifted three clay-court titles, all at the Madrid Open. Prior to this season, the 26-year-old defeated Ash Barty and Iga Swiatek in the 2021 and 2023 Madrid Open finals, respectively.
Sabalenka, with 31 wins in the matches she played this season, has also reached the finals of the Brisbane International, the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and the Stuttgart Open. After winning the title, the three-time Grand Slam singles winner has become the undisputed No.1 player with 11118 points in the live rankings. She is more than 4000 points ahead of Swiatek who has 6773 points.
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