Madrid: A first for Casper, a hat-trick for Aryna

A long time coming for Ruud

Ruud knows all too well the feeling of battling through to a big final, and walking away with the smaller trophy.

The former world No.2, prior to Madrid, had excelled at some of the biggest tournaments in the world, reaching three Grand Slam finals, two Masters 1000 finals, and the championship match at the ATP Finals. He went 0-6 in all those finals.

On Sunday at the Madrid Open, the 26-year-old stood his ground, and overcame a red-hot Jack Draper 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 to clinch the biggest title of his career and first at the Masters 1000 level.

"It is a mix of somewhat of a relief and happiness and just pure joy," said Ruud, after becoming the first Norwegian to secure a Masters 1000 crown.

"I know, based on the last years that I've had on tour, how tough it is to do well at the biggest tournaments, and I've never been able to get over the finish line as a champion.

"But today I was able to and this week here in Madrid, so I'm extremely happy and proud, of course, that I was able to stay focused in the tournament throughout the whole match."

Ruud arrived in Madrid ranked 15 in the world and revealed during the tournament that he had been struggling mentally these past few months, suffering from burnout and feeling like he was "running in a hamster wheel that never got anywhere".

He sought help and was thrilled to see the work he has been doing to improve his mental state was paying off so fast.

"I guess I'm back on the hamster wheel, but with a better mentality of that it's allowed to kind of have mental struggles or tougher days mentally, and tennis is not just about hitting the balls well or being quick around the court, but it's also a very, very mindful game," he said after his quarter-final win over Daniil Medvedev.

In a high-quality final against the fifth-seeded Draper, Ruud recovered from 3-5 down in the opening set and halted the Brit’s momentum in the decider to secure a milestone victory.

His reward is a return to the top 10, following a two-week absence, moving up to No.7 in the world.

"Here in Madrid, I really stepped up, which is a good feeling, but if you look at my last year, it would be less surprising if I was able to win the big title last year because of the other results I had,” said Ruud.

"But since Roland-Garros last year, I've had quite many months of struggling and not many good results, so it's worth the wait. I think I've accepted that I've had to, or I took one or two steps back in my game and my feelings on court in order to take two or three steps forward again. Here in Madrid, it feels like I've taken four steps forward, so that's a great feeling."

A lot more to come from Jack

Meanwhile, Draper can also feel like he’s taken many steps forward, particularly when it comes to his game on clay.

The British lefty, who won Indian Wells a few weeks ago, cemented his profile as a multi-surface threat, and was ever so close to completing the set of winning titles on hard, grass and clay.

The latter will have to wait just a little bit longer but given the calibre of players he defeated in Madrid en route to the final – Tallon Griekspoor, Matteo Berrettini (retired after one set), Tommy Paul, Matteo Arnaldi, and Lorenzo Musetti, all in straight sets – and the way he challenged Ruud, who leads the tour in clay wins (125), finals (18), and titles (12) since the start of 2020, Draper will no doubt fancy his chances on Paris’ terre battue later this month.

"Just fresh off losing a really tough match in a final, it really hurts,” said Draper, who rises to a career-high No.5 in the world on Monday.

"But at the same time, I think I've enjoyed a lot of really good successes here, I've come through a lot of matches, and so maybe this loss and maybe being in a final and not quite getting over the line just helps me to fuel my fire a bit more that I can, I need to keep on pushing, I need to keep on improving.

"I'm really proud of the way I've been the first few months of this season. I think the exciting thing is there's so much more to come from myself."

Sabalenka keeps rolling

There’s been a familiar pattern so far this season; more likely than not, if Aryna Sabalenka is in the draw, she will make it to the final.

It has happened at six of the eight tournaments she contested in 2025, and on Saturday in Madrid, she won her third title of the season (after Brisbane and Miami) and third in Madrid, joining Petra Kvitova as the only women to complete a hat-trick in the Spanish capital.

In the final, Sabalenka defeated the fourth-seeded Coco Gauff 6-3, 7-6(3) to extend her lead at the top of the rankings to over 4,300 points ahead of world No.2 Iga Swiatek.

It was the 20th title triumph of Sabalenka’s career and it came on the heels of a runner-up showing on indoor clay in Stuttgart the previous week.

"That sounds crazy, to be honest. And it's not like something I didn't expect to happen," Sabalenka said when reminded of her impressive record this season.

"I work hard and I know that if I bring my game and if I fight for every point that I'm capable of that. But to actually do it for real, I was like: ‘Okay, this is cool’. It's like a dream. I really hope that I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing and keep playing the way I'm playing right now."

Coco finds her game

Gauff started her fortnight in Madrid by getting bagelled by Dayana Yastremska in her opener.

The 21-year-old American won her next 10 sets at the Caja Magica – including two against last year’s champion Iga Swiatek in the semi-finals – to reach her first final of the season (outside of the United Cup team event), and first ever in Madrid.

She moves back to No.3 in the world as a result and shot her way up from No.12 to No.6 in the WTA Race.

Losing in a final is an unfamiliar feeling for Gauff, who was 10-1 in finals entering her clash with Sabalenka, and hadn’t lost one since Roland-Garros 2022.

"Today was tough, but obviously if I can lose this and go a few more finals undefeated I'll take that," said Gauff on Saturday. 

"Each time it's a learning experience, and maybe I needed to feel this loss again to be motivated again, even more motivated for the next one."