Gauff routs Swiatek to advance to Madrid Open final against World No. 1 Sabalenka

Coco Gauff overpowered defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-1, 6-1 on Thursday to advance to the Madrid Open women's singles final for the first time.

Gauff broke Swiatek's serve three times in the first set, and twice in the second, to cruise to a 64-minute semifinal victory over the second-ranked Pole at the clay-court tournament in the Spanish capital.

The American will face top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who defeated Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 6-3, 7-5 to reach the Madrid final for the fourth time in her career.

The win was Gauff's first over Swiatek on clay.

"The mentality that I had in the whole match was aggressive," the World No. 4 said. "Maybe it wasn't her best level today, but I think I forced her into some awkward positions."

Swiatek had recovered to win in the quarterfinals after dropping her first set 6-0 against Madison Keys on Wednesday.

"I couldn't really get my level up," the four-time French Open champion noted. "Coco played good, but I think it's on me that I didn't really move well, I wasn't ready to play back the shots with heaviness, and with that kind of game. It was pretty bad."

The last time Swiatek won just two or fewer games in a match – on any surface – was a 6-0, 6-2 loss to Jelena Ostapenko in Birmingham in 2019.

"For me," Gauff added, "it was just making sure my level stayed the same. In the second, I raised it."

Sabalenka returned to the final after ending Svitolina's unbeaten run on clay this year – she had been 9-0 on the surface in 2025, without dropping a set.

Sabalenka won the title in Madrid in 2021 and 2023, and finished as runner-up to Swiatek last year.

Gauff is 5-4 against Sabalenka and won their only prior meeting on clay, in Rome in 2021. The American also prevailed in their most recent meeting, at the 2024 Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Finals in Riyadh.

After beating Svitolina, Sabalenka became the first player to earn 30 main-draw wins at WTA events in 2025.