Iga Swiatek’s title defense at the 2025 Madrid Open came to a crushing end with a 6-1, 6-1 semi-final defeat to Coco Gauff on Thursday. Swiatek, who had been aiming to defend her crown, struggled to find any rhythm against the American, who will now face Aryna Sabalenka in the final. The world number two Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam winner, looked out of sorts as she dropped serve five times in just 64 minutes.
This result marks a particularly difficult week for Swiatek, who had already faced a series of challenges in Madrid. She had dropped sets to Alexandra Eala and Diana Shnaider, and earlier this week was handed a humiliating 6-0 defeat by Madison Keys. Despite bouncing back to defeat Keys in her next match, Swiatek’s performance against Gauff was lackluster, with the American proving too strong for her on the red clay courts.
Swiatek admitted her struggles, stating, “I couldn’t really get my level up. Coco played good, but, yeah, I think it’s on me that I didn’t really move well. With that kind of game, it was pretty bad.” The Pole was clearly frustrated with her performance, acknowledging that she had failed to play her best tennis. “I think I pushed kind of with my head for more than I even should, tennis-wise. Today for sure everything kind of collapsed,” she said.
Gauff, who had never beaten Swiatek on clay before, played a near-perfect match. The 21-year-old American broke Swiatek’s serve three times in the opening set and never looked back. She wrapped up the first set in just 29 minutes, converting her second set point. Gauff’s dominant performance continued in the second set, where she broke Swiatek twice more, completing the match on her first attempt.
“Obviously she wasn’t maybe playing her best tennis, but I think I made her uncomfortable,” Gauff commented after her victory. She acknowledged Swiatek’s skills, particularly on clay, but credited her own game plan for the win. “She is very talented and can make you run and move you around the court. And I just tried to not do that today,” she explained.
For Swiatek, this loss is a blow ahead of the Italian Open and her defense of the French Open title later this month. The 2024 Roland Garros champion, Swiatek will need to regroup quickly if she hopes to find her best form in time for the upcoming major events.
In the other semi-final, Aryna Sabalenka defeated Elina Svitolina 6-3, 7-5 to secure her spot in the final. Sabalenka, who won the Madrid Open in 2021 and 2023, was in fine form, clinching the first set after breaking Svitolina early. The Belarusian led 4-2 in the second set but was broken while serving for the match. However, she responded quickly with another break and sealed the win at the second attempt. With this victory, Sabalenka became the first WTA player to reach 30 match wins this season. She will now seek her third Madrid title against Gauff in the final.
In the men’s draw, Casper Ruud secured a 6-3, 7-5 victory over Daniil Medvedev to reach the semi-finals. The Norwegian, who is strong on clay, broke Medvedev’s serve in the fourth game of the first set and never let up. Medvedev, who is not known for his clay-court game, struggled throughout the match, committing 33 unforced errors. Ruud will face Francisco Cerundolo in the next round after the Argentine edged past Jakub Mensik in three sets. Jack Draper also advanced to the semi-finals, beating Matteo Arnaldi 6-0, 6-4. He will face Lorenzo Musetti next, with the Italian defeating Canada’s Gabriel Diallo in straight sets.
As the Madrid Open approaches its conclusion, all eyes will be on the finals, with Gauff and Sabalenka looking to claim the prestigious title in the women’s draw, and Ruud aiming for a strong finish in the men’s competition.
