ANALYSIS | Winners and losers of the WTA Madrid Open 2025 as Aryna Sabalenka scoops third title

The first WTA 1000 on clay of the season has concluded with Aryna Sabalenka winning her third title at the Madrid Open. The Caja Magica witnessed a spectacular level of tennis with many stars taking good feelings for the future, and others who have it more uphill.

Aryna Sabalenka managed to get rid of the thorn that had remained after losing the final of Stuttgart against Jelena Ostapenko two weeks ago crowned in the Spanish capital making it clear again why she is the world number 1;

Many stars shone in the Caja Mágica, such as Coco Gauff, Madison Keys and Mirra Andreeva, who are sharpening their fangs ahead of the second Grand Slam of the season, Roland Garros. Others, such as Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula showed some doubts that they will have to correct if they want to stay near the top of the ranking.

The world No. 1 is the big winner of these two weeks of competition in the Spanish capital. Sabalenka not only played sensationally these days, but she was able to complete the title run and win the final clearing any kind of doubts. The Belarusian is several steps above the rest at the moment, showing tremendous confidence in her tennis and in her team;

It is the third title for Sabalenka so far this year, having triumphed in Brisbane and Miami. It could be 6 titles, as she missed the Australian final (against Keys), the Indian Wells final (against Andreeva) and the Stuttgart final (against Ostapenko);

Despite these defeats, Sabalenka's regularity has proven to know no favorite surfaces, extrapolating her good numbers on fast courts to this European gura on clay. Today she is the great favorite to win Roland Garros.

Despite her defeat in the final, Coco Gauff was back to her best on the Caja Mágica clay. The American dropped just one set on her way to the final, taking down the likes of Mirra Andreeva and Iga Swiatek in straight sets. The WTA No. 3 player has thus regained confidence in her game after a start to the season in which things had not gone as expected;

The 21-year-old never seems to panic and has made it clear that her tennis is well suited to slower courts. Gauff will have the opportunity to further polish her game in Rome, before the Parisian major begins.

Another American who shone on the Madrid Open courts was Madison Keys. The only Grand Slam champion of the season (so far) had lost to Kalinskaya in her first approach to clay, in Charleston, in the round of 16. In Spain, Keys was defeated by Swiatek in a dramatic, game-changing quarter-final. Still, having the No. 2 seed against the ropes on her favorite surface will surely help her gain confidence.

The young Russian turned 18 in Madrid, where she managed to reach the quarterfinals, being defeated by Gauff. Despite having a dream season, the jump to clay had not been entirely good, losing in the round of 16 in Stuttgart against Alexandrova in straight sets. Andreeva was a semifinalist at Roland Garros last year, an achievement she will try to surpass in the next edition.

The 31-year-old Ukrainian is having a stellar 2025, with a record of 18 wins and only 6 setbacks so far this season. After an injury that led her to undergo surgery last year, the wife of Gael Monfils has made a sensational comeback that has only improved during this part of the Tour. A champion in Rouen and a semi-finalist in Madrid, Svitolina is a threat to anyone in the future.

Former world No. 1 Iga Swiatek had a titanic task in 2025: to match what she did last year, when she crushed all her competitors on her way to winning almost all the tournaments she played on clay.

Swiatek is one of the losers in Madrid mainly as a consequence of that pressure to revalidate the points won, as it cannot be said that someone who has reached the semifinals has had a bad tournament.

With Coco Gauff on her heels and with the obligation to defend championship points in Rome and at Roland Garros, Iga is in big trouble to retain her place as Aryna Sabalenka's immediate pursuer.

To make matters worse, it was learned that Iga's grandfather passed away days before Madrid, so inevitably the loss of a loved one no doubt affected her mood. Nevertheless, Swiatek went out to play and kept on winning, registering a priceless victory against Keys, taking revenge for what happened in Melbourne.

It is clear that she is very lacking in confidence and still has a lot of work ahead of her. It would not be entirely strange if she could lose her place in the top 3, as besides Gauff, Pegula is also very close.

Jessica Pegula's greatest virtue is her consistency, as she herself has said, but in the Spanish capital Pegula could not keep the rule. The American had become accustomed to always be fighting tournaments week after week, emerging as a dangerous opponent.

After winning Charleston and making the quarterfinals in Stuttgart, Pegula appeared to be the best American on clay. Unfortunately, that title was too big for her in Madrid, and after defeating Germany's Eva Lys in her debut, she fell heavily to Japan's Moyuka Uchijima in her second match in the Caja Mágica. Uchijima was a total surprise that was reflected in a score that is undoubtedly striking, 6-3 and 6-2 against one of the most expensive players to sell her defeat on the Tour.

Pegula has in Rome and Roland Garros the opportunity to break into the top three in the world for the first time, but she will have to improve her level if she really aspires to win a title in this European spring.

The Olympic champion in Paris 2024, Zheng Qinwen, is another player who takes a negative balance of her presentation in Madrid, however brief it may have been. Queen-wen' lost in her debut against Russia's Anastasia Potapova, who had earned her place in the qualifying round. The number 8 has not had the start of the season she expected after her sensational 2024 and despite having won the gold on clay, this year the adaptation to slower courts has not been the best.