MADRID – No. 1-ranked Aryna Sabalenka beat No. 4 Coco Gauff in straight sets to win her record-tying third Madrid Open and 20th career title on Saturday.

Sabalenka powered through the first set and edged the American in a tiebreaker for 6-3, 7-6 (3) on the Caja Mágica clay court.

Sabalenka added to titles in Madrid in 2021 and 2023 and equaled Petra Kvitova’s tournament record. It was also Sabalenka’s tour-leading third title of the year after Brisbane and Miami. She also pulled level with Gauff on head-to-head with five wins apiece.

Gauff could have risen to No. 2 with a victory. The 2023 U.S. Open champion lost only one set this week until the final. Gauff’s great record in finals slipped to nine wins in 11.

Sabalenka battered Gauff with her drive early on, winning 17 consecutive points during one section for a 4-1 start. When Gauff found her weakness by spreading her shots around, the former champion dug in to force a second-set tiebreaker and crush any chance of a comeback.

Sabalenka missed a championship point on a break chance in the second set, recalling her failure to convert three championship points in a loss to Iga Swiatek in last year’s final. After yelling at herself for her missed opportunity, the three-time Grand Slam winner shook off her demons, settled down and finished off her tour-high 31st win of 2025.

When Gauff’s final shot hit the net, Sabalenka thrust her arms into the air.

“It was a really tough match,” Sabalenka said. “At the end of the second set it was really intense and I was very emotional. I am happy I was able to handle my emotions.”

In the men’s final on Sunday, Casper Ruud plays Jack Draper.

AP

Moyuka Uchijima is living a dream – at least that’s how she described it.

In the last few days at the Madrid Open, the Japanese world No. 56 defeated her favorite player Ons Jabeur in the second round before claiming the first top-10 win of her career over world No. 3 Jessica Pegula on Sunday.

This time last year, Uchijima was ranked 130 in the world, which wasn’t high enough for her to get into the draw in Madrid.

She was instead grinding on the lower-level ITF circuit, and about to go on a 15-match winning streak, sweeping three consecutive titles – in Japan, Slovakia, and Spain – in as many weeks.

That run earned her a place in the top 100 for the first time, and the 23-year-old hasn’t looked back since, rising to a career-high 51 in the world earlier this month.

With wins against Robin Montgomery, and 2022 Madrid finalists Jabeur and Pegula, Uchijima punched her ticket to the last-16 stage at a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time. She’ll take on 21st-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova for a place in the quarterfinals on Monday evening.

“I’m just really, really happy. It’s my first Masters 1000 round of 16, and I still cannot believe it, I’m in a dream kind of,” Uchijima said in an interview with Arab News and wtatennis.com.

“I know Jessica is a really, really great player, so I was just really happy to share a court with her, but to get a win is something really, really special for me.”

Uchijima entered her third round against Pegula with a 0-6 record against top-10 opposition, including a tight third-set tiebreak loss to Coco Gauff in Indian Wells last month.

She lost in similar fashion to a 15th-ranked Mirra Andreeva at the Australian Open early in the year.

Those two close defeats gave Uchijima the belief she was at the same level as these top players; she just needed to get over that final hump and close out victories.

She did just that against Jabeur and Montgomery, rallying back from a set down, and was clinical in her straight-sets win over Pegula.

“I just try not to think about the score, because when you think you have a chance, then you start to get nervous,” explained Uchijima. “So this week, I’m just trying to, even first round, I was getting killed by Robin Montgomery, she is also a great player; I just try not to think during the point too much and just enjoy the moment and just try to do what I can do at that moment.”

She added: “Ons is one of my favorite players, and I’m always watching her on TV.

“And Jessica as well. Obviously, they’ve always been on top in the WTA Tour, so it’s kind of a dream that I’m playing against them and actually able to win some matches.”

Jabeur, the Tunisian former world No. 2, plays a unique brand of tennis that Uchijima finds particularly exciting to watch, albeit when she’s not on the receiving end of it.

“It’s just she’s different,” said Uchijima.

“She plays a style that is different than a lot of players, so I hate to play against her because she uses a lot of drop shots, so I have to run more, but to watch is really, really interesting because you don’t see a lot of players like the way she plays, so it’s just really fun to watch.”

Uchijima was born in Kuala Lumpur to a Japanese father and Malaysian mother. She moved around with her family for a few years before settling in Tokyo when she was around eight years old.

On her way to elementary school every day, she would pass by a tennis court at her father Kazuto’s workplace. Uchijima did swimming and basketball at the time, but when she picked up tennis, she enjoyed it way more than the monotony of swim practice and the running drills in basketball.

She forced her sister, who did ballet and gymnastics, to join her during tennis practice and was doing it for fun until she realized she was actually good at it by the age of 13.

Uchijima’s current training base is Guangzhou, where she gets to spend her preseason hitting with the likes of Zheng Saiai and Zhu Lin.

“A lot of those girls, they’ve been top 30, top 20, so they gave me a lot of tips, and they always support me from wherever,” she said.

“We are far away from each other, maybe not playing the same tournament, but if we play the same tournament, we still support each other, and yeah, of course, my coaches, they’re helping me a lot.”

This week in Madrid, Uchijima received some priceless advice from her compatriot Kei Nishikori, who she grew up watching and idolizing. The 35-year-old Nishikori is a former world No. 4 and the only man representing an Asian country to reach a Grand Slam final (US Open 2014).

He contested the men’s tournament in Madrid this week, losing to Denis Shapovalov in the second round, and Uchijima cannot believe that after all these years, she gets to be at the same event as her idol.

“We went to the Olympics together last year, so I got to know him more there,” said Uchijima.

“I was watching him on TV, so it’s just crazy, you’re actually living the same life, same place.

“I don’t have a lot of experience here, playing in Madrid, where this a little bit of altitude, and a little bit different conditions, and Kei played here many, many years, and I think he was runner-up here (in 2014), so he gave me some tips. Actually, after the first round match, he gave me some tips, so I guess it’s working.”

Years after Li Na and Nishikori paved the way, Japan’s Naomi Osaka exploded onto the scene, winning four Grand Slams and becoming Asia’s first ever singles world No. 1.

More recently, China’s Zheng Qinwen reached the Australian Open final in 2024 and clinched the gold medal at the Paris Olympics. Filipina teenager Alex Eala made a historic run to the semifinals in Miami last month.

Asian tennis is booming and Uchijima is keen to write her own chapter in its story.

“I think it’s a really, really great thing,” she said.

“For me, I grew up watching Kei Nishikori and Naomi, for the most part, but yeah, Alex in Miami, what she has done was really, really incredible, and of course, I got a lot of motivation from her, and also from Olympics last year, when Zheng Qinwen won the gold, first Asian to win a gold.

“So yeah, of course, I got a motivation from her that even we can do it, so I don’t know, hopefully, I can be a little part of it, and give some dreams for the younger players, not only in Japan, maybe in Asia. Because that’s how I look up, watching Kei and Naomi, so I can hope I can do the same for the younger generation.”

Uchijima grew up playing on hard courts and artificial grass in Japan but says she started to find her game on clay last season and realized the red dirt is probably the most suited to her playing style.

With a quarterfinal spot on the line for Uchijima on Monday, she’s focusing on the task at hand and doesn’t want to get distracted by her achievements so far at the Caja Magica.

“It gave me confidence, but there’s a lot of things still I can improve from today’s match, so just trying to improve day by day,” she said.

After competing at a lower-level tournament at a different site in Madrid 12 months ago, Uchijima’s time at the WTA 1000 in the Spanish capital this week has been a significant upgrade.

“Good food, good courts, a good facility – I’m just enjoying it and everything,” she says with a smile.

AN

STUTTGART – Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva has beaten the world’s best players to move up to world No. 7 but on Wednesday she beat a player who had got the better of her for years — her elder sister Erika.

The Andreeva sisters were drawn against each other at the Stuttgart Open but any hopes of witnessing an absorbing sibling rivalry were put to bed when Erika, 20, was forced to retire with a knee injury while trailing 6-2 1-0.

Mirra had beaten the likes of world No. 1 and 2 Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek en route to the Indian Wells title last month, but the 17-year-old said it was tougher to focus when her elder sister is on the other side of the net.

“For me, 75 percent-80 percent is about my mental preparation, because you’re also not just focusing on yourself and you’re not focusing on how to beat her, but you’re also focusing (on her) — does she feel good? I don’t know,” Mirra told reporters.

“I wonder, how does she feel? What are we going to do after the match? How is it going to be? All those thoughts.

“Me, I don’t just focus on myself, but I also focus on kind of paying more attention to her. This makes the match more difficult for me… To really just focus on myself, it’s almost impossible when I play against her.”

The two had met once before in Wuhan last year where Erika — who is now 90 rungs below Mirra in the rankings — triumphed in straight sets.

Mirra said she knew Erika was struggling with her knee as they are sharing a room, but also revelled in beating her for the first time — even though the victory did not come under ideal circumstances.

“We played a couple of times on the practices when we were younger, and actually, until Wuhan last year, we never ever played an official match. So we were always playing a couple of games on the practices or a couple of tiebreaks,” Mirra said.

“But most of the time, of course she has, like a 90 percent win (record) against me and this is actually the first time I really won a set against her.

“I just know that, of course, if she would feel her 100 percent, the score would be completely different and the match would be different as well. But I’m sure that we have a lot of time to play and to show the great level of tennis.”

She will next play compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova in the last 16.

AN-REUTERS

BRISBANE – Elena Rybakina showcased her prowess to beat Kimberly Birrell 6-3 7-6(4) as Kazakhstan secured a 2-1 win over Australia in their Billie Jean King Cup Group D qualifier in Brisbane on Thursday.

Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, went down an early break but cranked up her powerful forehand and drew level after six games before claiming the opening set with an ace.

Birrell raced to a 5-1 lead in the second set but squandered a set point and Rybakina clawed her way back with some ferocious shot-making to clinch victory in the tiebreak.

“It was such a difficult match,” said Rybakina, who secured her eighth victory in 10 singles matches since her debut in the competition in 2021.

“I’m super happy to bring the win for the team … it’s always nice to be back in Australia.”

Earlier at the Pat Rafter Arena, Yulia Putintseva gave Kazakhstan an early lead with a 6-2 6-1 win over debutant Maya Joint.

However, Australia’s Storm Hunter and Ellen Perez claimed the third match of the night with a 6-3 6-4 victory over Anna Danilina and Zhibek Kulambayeva in the doubles.

Czech Republic beat Brazil 2-1 in Ostrava in Group B, while the Netherlands cruised past Germany 3-0 in The Hague in Group F.

Poland, without French Open champion Iga Swiatek after the world No. 2 opted to skip their Group E ties to focus on her training ahead of the clay season, beat Switzerland 3-0 in Radom.

Jessica Pegula and Danielle Collins were among a trio of players to withdraw from the US team, which plays Denmark on Saturday in Group C, for the three-day qualifiers.

Teams have been divided into six round-robin groups of three in the qualifiers this year with the winners joining hosts China and 2024 champions Italy at the Finals in Shenzhen toward the end of the season.

AN-REUTERS

MIAMI GARDENS – World number one Aryna Sabalenka blasted her way into the final of the Miami Open with a convincing 6-2 6-2 demolition of Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.

Sabalenka needed just 71 minutes to wrap-up her win against the sixth seed and she will now face the winner of Thursday’s other semifinal between American Jessica Pegula and wildcard Alexandra Eala.

The win earns the Belarusian, who was beaten in the Indian Wells final earlier this month by Mirra Andreeva, a place in the Miami final for the first time in her career.

“I’m super happy with the level I played today. Of course super happy to be in my first Miami Open final,” said Sabalenka.

Sabalenka was never behind against Paolini, and the match was only tied twice — at 1-1 in each set. She served six aces and broke the Italian’s serve four times,
“I definitely would say that this was one of the best matches in the season so far. I don’t know. I was just so focused on myself, on the things I had to do today.

“It felt like everything was just, like, going smoothly my way,” she said.

Sabalenka will be keen to banish the memory of defeat in the Indian Wells final and in the Australian Open final where she lost to Madison Keys.

“The lessons (of those defeats) was I believe focus on myself, not on what’s going on the other side,” she said.

“I think in those finals I was more focusing on my opponents than on myself. I think I just have to bring the same attitude, the same mindset that I had today, I think I have to bring it in the finals,” she said.

“I really feel this time I’m going to do better than I did in the last two finals,” added the 26-year-old.

She is only the sixth woman to reach the finals of both stops on the American ‘Sunshine Swing’ in the same season.

AN-AFP

MIAMI – Alexandra Eala, a 19-year-old wildcard from the Philippines, produced a huge upset at the Miami Open on Wednesday, defeating world number two Iga Swiatek 6-2 7-5 to reach the semifinals.

Ranked 140th in the world, Eala, the first woman from her country to reach the last eight of a WTA 1000 tournament, took advantage of a unusually poor display from Swiatek, keeping her focus as she fought back from 4-2 down in the second set.

Eala broke the Pole for the eighth and final time when Swiatek was serving to stay in the match at 6-5 down in the second set and looked in disbelief as she struggled to contain her emotions.

“It’s just surreal,” said Eala, who has now beaten three grand slam winners on her route to the last four at Miami — having dealt with Jelena Ostapenko and Madison Keys before upsetting four-time French Open champion Swiatek.

“I’m trusting my shots and I have a great team to tell me that I can do it,” she said.

Eala moved to Spain at the age of 13 to join Rafael Nadal’s academy in Mallorca.

Eala will face the winner of Wednesday’s quarter-final between Britain’s Emma Raducanu and American Jessica Pegula.

AN-AFP, 26.3.2025

MIAMI – World number two Iga Swiatek is receiving additional security at the Miami Open after she was harassed by a spectator during her practice.

The issue comes after British player Emma Raducanu was targeted by a stalker during last month’s Dubai Open.

Media reports said that Swiatek was verbally harassed by a spectator, who has a history of online attacks against the player, during practice on Sunday.

“Security is a top priority. We monitor the network to catch these types of issues. Constructive criticism is one thing, and threats, hate speech or even disturbance during training is another — this cannot be condoned,” a spokesperson for Swiatek told AFP.

“We reported the matter to the tournament organizer, as well as to the WTA, which reacted immediately and took additional precautions, such as additional security, for which we are very grateful.

“Ensuring the safety of the players is crucial, they are the ones at the center of the event, and it is our job to protect them,” the spokesperson added.

The WTA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Raducanu was left distraught after a man later said to be displaying “fixated behavior” appeared at a courtside seat during her defeat to Karolina Muchova.

The man was escorted away by security, subsequently given a restraining order and banned from attending WTA Tour events.

AN-AFP, 25.3.2025