After a closely contested championship final at the 2025 Madrid Open, tennis superstars Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka set the example of a touching gesture of respect and friendship despite the latter’s championship defeat. The two celebrated with clinking champagne bottles during the trophy presentation ceremony.
The victory salute followed a battle of nerves in the Spanish capital as top seed Sabalenka edged out fourth-seeded Gauff 6-3, 7-6(3) to claim her third singles title of the season. Gauff finished runner-up in her 11th singles final of her career.
A Glimpse at Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka’s Run in Madrid
Gauff, aged 21, started her fifth Madrid Open campaign with a three-set win over Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine and then swept past Ann Li, Belinda Bencic, and Russian teen Mirra Andreeva before stunning former World No. 1 Iga Swiatek in the semifinals.
World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, had entered the draw as the tournament’s top seed and had defeated Anna Blinkova, Elise Mertens, Peyton Stearns, Marta Kostyuk, and Elina Svitolina to reach the final. Her win over Gauff not only finished her seventh Madrid Open campaign on a high note but also levelled her head-to-head record against the American at 5-5.
In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter), Gauff and Sabalenka were smiling and clinking their champagne bottles at the award ceremony and holding their trophies.
— ً (@tennisgif3)
Gauff reposted the photo later in her Instagram Stories, tagging Sabalenka in a champagne glass emoji. Sabalenka reshared the post with a series of emojis:
In a post-match press conference, Gauff praised Sabalenka’s improvement after their 2025 Madrid Open final, saying her growing confidence and consistency made the difference.
“I feel like she just got a lot better in everything. Probably every time I play her is tough and I don’t think today she played me any different than the other few, or 10 times we played. I think last time we played, I was serving better and it went my way,” Gauff said.
“Maybe she moves a little bit better, but she’s always been tough to play. So, I think she just probably is more confident, so that’s why the consistent results are happening, but she’s always been a great player,” she added.
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka Set Sights on Italian Open After Madrid Final Duel
Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka will participate in the Italian Open in Rome, which will begin on May 6. Gauff has competed at the WTA 1000 tournament five times since making her debut there in 2020. The American tennis star has reached the semifinals in 2021 and 2024, is 12–5 in the event, and has earned over $300,000 in prize money.
Sabalenka, meanwhile, returns for the seventh time to the Italian Open. She qualified for the tournament in 2018 as a lucky loser and reached the final in 2024, where she was beaten by Iga Swiatek in straight sets. The World No. 1 Belarusian is 9–6 in Rome and has won more than $500,000 in prize money.
