Madrid conquered

Aryna Sabalenka turned 27 on May 5th, and she gave herself the best birthday present by winning a prestigious tournament in Madrid. In the final match, Aryna beat USA’s Coco Gauff — 6-3, 7-6.

In the Spanish capital, Sabalenka won her third title of the season and the 20th of her career

The Belarusian, who won the thousandth in Madrid in 2021 and 2023, has become a three-time champion of the tournament. In total, she now has nine titles in the WTA-1000 tournaments. Aryna consolidated her leadership in the world ranking — now she has 11,118 points. Poland’s Iga Świątek remained second (6,773), and Gauff returned to third place (6,603), surpassing Jessica Pegula (6,273). Sabalenka is also the third tennis player in history to reach 11,000 ranking points, after Świątek (11,695) and Serena Williams (13,615).
“Honestly, it’s so crazy for me,” the world number one said after winning in Madrid. “I’ve been working my whole life to achieve this goal, and to be on the top of the ranking, that means a lot. I feel like my life has not been a waste of time, and I am where I need to be. It takes a lot of hard work, but I’m just super happy to be one of the best in the world right now and win this beautiful trophy.” 
The next stop on the Belarusian’s way is Rome, where a new super tournament has started this week.
The Internazionali BNL d’Italia is the final women’s thousandth of the season.

By Sergei Kanashits