Sabalenka pays tribute to her hard work after Madrid Open win

Aryna Sabalenka was understandably delighted after her three-set victory over Coco Gauff in the Madrid Open final on Saturday.

The Belarusian paid tribute to the hard work she had put in, which allowed her to achieve her third title in Madrid – only Rafael Nadal has won more (five).

Sabalenka's victory makes her the fourth player in the last 40 years to win her first six completed meetings of a season against top-10 opposition in straight sets.

"I've been working [my] whole life to achieve this goal, and to be on the top of the ranking, that means a lot," she said, as quoted by the WTA.

"I've been working really hard and improving my game on bringing variety into my game. I think that's the biggest key in most of the matches right now.

"I'm super happy that we were able to improve my game in, honestly, in everything, the movement, my touch game is much better right now. ... Kind of like trying to come to the net, I'm not sure if it's really successful so far, but I'm trying."

Sabalenka made a flying start to the match, winning 17 successive points, though Gauff improved to take a 5-3 lead in the second set.

6/6 - Aryna Sabalenka is the 4th player in the last 40 years to win her first 6 seasonal completed meetings against top-10 in straight sets after Martina Navratilova (1986), Steffi Graf (1994, 1995, 1996) and Serena Williams (2014). Surfing.#MMOpen | @MutuaMadridOpen @WTA pic.twitter.com/xZ0wvBd88U
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) May 3, 2025

Gauff then saved six break points after Sabalenka had battled back to make it 5-5, and the latter was complimentary about her opponent's showing.

"Congratulations to Coco. I am so happy to see you back playing your best tennis," said Sabalenka.

"You are such a fighter and I love playing against you. With my team, we have been through a lot together so thank you to them."

Gauff, meanwhile, was magnanimous in defeat.

"I think it's four straight finals for you... Congratulations to you for all the success you are having," she said.

"This has been a step in the right direction for me. It is one of my favourite cities and tournaments to come to, and hopefully we can go on and win more from here."