Sabalenka defeats Svitolina to reach fourth career final in Madrid

Aryna Sabalenka continues to solidify her dominance at the WTA 1000 in Madrid. Already a two-time champion (2021 and 2023) and a finalist last year, the world No. 1 secured her fourth career final (and third in a row) at the Caja Magica on Thursday.

To achieve this, she overcame Elina Svitolina in straight sets (6-3, 7-5) after an hour and a half of play. She relied on a strong first-serve win percentage (77%) and managed to save five of the seven break points she faced.

Svitolina tried to keep the suspense alive by breaking Sabalenka back at 5-4 in the second set, but the Belarusian quickly responded to close out the match before a tie-break.

On Saturday, she will aim for a third title in the Spanish capital against Coco Gauff. If she triumphs, she will equal Petra Kvitova’s record of titles—the only player to have won the event three times (2011, 2015, and 2018) since its inception in 2009.