Sabalenka looks back on her defeat by Swiatek in the Madrid final: "In this final, I fought for every point"

On the sidelines of the WTA 1000 in Rome, where she is due to make her debut this Friday (against the winner of the match between Yafan Wang and Katie Volynets), Aryna Sabalenka looked back on her defeat in the Madrid final last Saturday. After a fine Spanish tournament in which she beat a number of top players (Danielles Collins, Elena Rybakina), the world number 2 finally succumbed to Iga Swiatek in the final. Despite two match points in her favor, the Belarusian was unable to repeat her 2023 performance, relinquishing her Madrid crown to the world number 1.

When asked about this exceptional match, Sabalenka had some words of wisdom: "Obviously, Swiatek is much better on clay than I am. But it's not just about the surface, it's a whole process. Basically, there are a few key moments in every match, and that's when the best player wins. For example, in the last match against Iga, I wouldn't say I did badly on those key points, I did what I had to do, but she did a little better. [...] In this final, I fought for every point."