There is no other clay court tournament. Of the 24 titles that the world number one, who will turn 28 on May 5, has won in her career, only four have been on clay. Three were won in the Caja Mágica – the fourth in the Austrian city of Linz in 2020 – by the woman who has won the tournament the most times (2021, 2023, 2025) along with the Czech Petra Kvitova. This Thursday, in her debut, the Belarusian beat the American Peyton Stearns (7-5 and 6-2, 1h 35m), 43rd in the ranking. On the four previous occasions in which they surpassed the first round, (2021, 2023, 2024 and 2025). “The people here connect with me and support me a lot. I’m always excited to return to Madrid, to feel the atmosphere of the stadium. And then, the food is incredible. That’s all that matters to me, the support and the food,” Sabalenka declared a few days ago at the San Fermín neighborhood venue.
His love affair with Madrid is absolute. The Belarusian is staying this year at the luxurious and exclusive Four Seasons hotel, very close to Puerta del Sol, and is enjoying her walks through the Retiro Park. Her game in the capital of Spain is favored by the city’s altitude—about 650 meters above sea level—which makes the shots of the player who hits the ball the hardest in the entire circuit go even further. “I never forget the feeling of defeat. That feeling hurts me, I hate it. I never forget it and that’s why I always try to go out and give my best version, because I don’t want to deal with that situation of losing,” the tennis player explained last Tuesday, before knocking down the American Coco Gauff in the final.
Sabalenka landed of the year, as the Anglo-Saxons call him. She also triumphed in January in Brisbane – a WTA 250, the fourth category of tournaments – but that same month she missed what would have been her third Australian Open when she fell in the final.
Before arriving at the Caja Mágica, the Belarusian gave up going to Stuttgart to “decongest the calendar.” “This season my physique has been worse, and I have had to take a little rest to recover, and do what is right for my body. Showing my best tennis every time I compete means a lot,” he commented. The German tournament, a WTA 500, is the first relevant one on clay on the circuit that the Belarusian used to play in recent years. There they fell in the final four times (2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025). Nerves and big dates are precisely his unfinished business: “I have been working with psychologists and I have been doing everything to stay mentally healthy. What I have discovered over the years is that it is very important to surround yourself with people with whom you feel comfortable, you feel protected and you feel free to say what you want.”
The tennis player from Minsk has dominated the WTA circuit since she regained control in October 2024. She has four majors in his history, two less than Iga Swiatek, but he has only achieved them in the cement of Australia (2023 and 2024) and New York (2024 and 2025). This April she arrives more rested on the clay court tour, with the focus on Roland Garros. Before that she will pass through the arena of the Foro Italico in Rome, where she has never triumphed either, and in Madrid the Romanian Jaqueline Cristian (33rd) awaits her in the next round on Saturday, whom she already swept in Indian Wells in March 6-4 and 6-1. The volcanic Sabalenka, a manual puncher, is on her favorite clay. “Madrid is super special for me. I am always excited to come back here and play on this beautiful court. I love this city and I love being here,” he said in 2025, which this year he is defending for the third time.
