Madrid Open 2023 Women's Report

The WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid likely reminds most Dutch tennis fans of 2019, the year in which compatriot Kiki Bertens managed to win the prestigious tournament. Things have changed since then, as Bertens has retired from tennis, and the global top ten looks very different than it did four years ago. The vast majority of this global top ten are on the entry list for the 2023 Madrid Open. Only Ons Jabeur, who incidentally won the tournament in 2022, had to withdraw due to knee problems and was therefore unable to defend her title.

Other big names, such as world number one Iga Swiatek, former winner Aryna Sabalenka, Jessica Pegula (last year's finalist), and three-time tournament winner Pertra Kvitova, did appear in the lineup. As did Arantxa Rus, the only Dutch representative in this tournament. The 32-year-old Russian secured a strong first-round victory over Amanda Anisimova and also played a strong second-round match. However, Maria Sakkari, the world number eight, proved just a tad too strong for our compatriot: 6-4/6-4.

Highlights Madrid Open 2023

That Rus's second-round exit was no disgrace was evident from the list of other players who were eliminated at this stage of the tournament. Kvitova, for example, was immediately forced to retire after a defeat against Jule Niemeier (WTA-74), and the tournament also ended for Victoria Azarenka, who couldn't hold her own against the relatively unknown Alycia Parks. Rybakina, who had already demonstrated her good form several times in 2023, also crashed out in the second round. Anna Kalinskaya (WTA-57) proved too strong for the Kazakh in three sets. Other seeded players, such as Bianca Andreescu, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Donnan Vekic, also saw their exits at this stage of the tournament.

In the next round, the Madrid crowd also had to say goodbye to several established names. Coco Gauff, for example, suffered a dismal defeat to Paula Badosa (6-3/6-0), and Caroline Garcia, the world number four, lost in straight sets to Mayar Sherif. Incidentally, the Egyptian surprised again in the round of 16 by eliminating Elise Mertens of Belgium. In this round of 16, Swiatek did manage to advance to the next round. The Polish player won, albeit with difficulty, against Ekatarina Aleksandrova and thus secured a spot in the last eight. The same applied to Veronika Kudermetova, Irina-Camelia Begu, Sakkari, Sabalenka, Pegula, and Petra Martic, who pulled off a surprise by sending Barbora Krejcikova home.

Swiatek knows no mercy

Incidentally, the quarterfinals proved to be the end of the road for Martic. The Croatian faced Światek, who showed no mercy and saddled her opponent with a heavy defeat: 6-3/6-0. Sabalenka, the world number two, also reached the last four. The Belarusian recovered after a weak first set (6-2 loss) against Sherif, but had little to fear from her opponent in the following two sets and easily advanced. Kudermetova (WTA-12) surprised by eliminating former finalist Pegula, and Sakkari propelled herself to the semifinals in three sets by defeating Romanian Begu, making Sabalenka-Sakkari and Światek-Kudermetova the semifinals.

While Martic managed to wrest three games from Swiatek in the quarterfinals, things got even more painful for Kudermetova, her next opponent, in the semifinals. Swiatek virtually swept the Russian off the court with a score of 6-1/6-1, and after eighty minutes of tennis, the 21-year-old secured her place in the final. Sabalenka also had no trouble with her opponent in her semifinal. Sakkari held her own in the first set (6-4), but lacked the stamina to make things difficult for her opponent in the second set: 6-1.

Madrid Open 2023 Final

This meant that Swiatek and Sabalenka faced each other for the second time in a short period – both women also met in the final in Stuttgart – and that's not surprising considering we're talking about the world's number one and two players, respectively. Swiatek had already won the tournaments in Doha (hard court) and Stuttgart (clay court) this year, while Sabalenka was the winner in Adelaide and at the Australian Open (both hard courts). The Polish player claimed the latter victory, and it was immediately apparent that Sabalenka had a thirst for revenge. The Belarusian played a strong first set, taking it 6-3.

In the second set, Swiatek came into the match stronger, immediately capturing Sabalenka's serve and quickly taking a 3-0 lead, ultimately winning the set 6-3. This meant a third set was needed to decide who would win this titanic battle. Sabalenka quickly took a 3-0 lead in the third set, but then lost her own game, watching Swiatek pull back to 3-3. Yet, it was Sabalenka who ultimately prevailed: the world number two won her own serve, broke Swiatek's, and, after capitalizing on her fourth match point after about two and a half hours, could finally celebrate. The 25-year-old Sabalenka thus claimed her third WTA title of 2023 and consolidated her position in the WTA rankings.