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Sunday, May 4, 2025

Wk.18- Aryna's (Third) Reign in Spain







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*WEEK 18 CHAMPIONS*
MADRID, SPAIN (WTA 1000; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR def. Coco Gauff/USA 6-3/7-6(3)
D: Sorana Cirstea/Anna Kalinsakaya (ROU/RUS) def. Veronika Kudermetova/Elise Mertens (RUS/BEL) 6-7(10)/6-2 [12-10]
Saint-Malo, France (WTA 125; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Naomi Osaka/JPN def. Kaja Juvan/SLO 6-1/7-5
D: Maia Lumsden/Makoto Ninomiya (GBR/JPN) def. Oksana Kalashnikova/Angelica Moratelli (GEO/ITA) 7-5/6-2
Vic, Spain (WTA 125; Red Clay Outdoor)
S: Dalma Galfi/HUN def. Rebeka Masarova/SUI 6-3/6-0
D: Bianca Andreescu/Aldila Sutjiadi (CAN/INA) def. Leylah Fernandez/Lulu Sun (CAN/NZL) 6-2/6-4




[Madrid 4th Rd.+]

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PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Aryna Sabalenka/BLR
...Sabalenka had some unfinished business to attend to. A year ago, she didn't repeat as the Madrid champ despite holding three MP in the final vs. Iga Swiatek. This time around, though she had to traverse the usual ups and downs of a nearly two-week event, she lost just one set on her way to her 20th career tour crown and third in five years in Madrid (she's an odd-year dominator with titles in 2021, '23 and now '25).

Losing just a single set in the 3rd Round vs. former doubles partner Elise Mertens, Sabalenka ran the table the rest of the tournament with straight setters against Anna Blinkova, Peyton Stearns, Marta Kostyuk (in two dramatic TBs) and Elina Svitolina to reach the final in Madrid for the fourth time in five years. Twice holding off surges from Coco Gauff in the final -- late in the 1st, and early in the 2nd -- Sabalenka took a 6-3/7-6 final to belatedly avenge her loss to Gauff in their last final match-up, at the '23 U.S. Open.

The win over Gauff further solidifies Sabalenka's grasp of the top position on tour. Her six Top 10 victories lead the WTA, where she's 6-0 vs. Top 10 opponents and 11-2 vs. the Top 20 this season, while reaching six finals (topping the WTA) and winning three titles (ditto). By contrast, #2 Swiatek has yet to reach a final, is 5-2 vs. the Top 10 and 7-5 vs. the Top 20; while #3 Gauff hadn't reached a semifinal in '25 before this event.

Sabalenka's ranking point lead over Swiatek has now swelled to 4345 (Iga defends another title in Rome next, where Sabalenka was the RU in '24) and 4515 over the edging-up #3 Gauff.


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RISERS: Coco Gauff/USA and Marta Kostyuk/UKR
...before Madrid, Gauff's season had been a fairly mediocre one. She hadn't reached a semifinal since ending '24 with a WTA Finals title. Still, Iga Swiatek's eleven-month slippage gave her the chance to claim the #2 ranking with a win in the final on Saturday. She came up short vs. Aryna Sabalenka, but can't help but now be looked upon as a major factor in both Rome and Paris.

Things didn't start out well for Gauff in Madrid, as she dropped her opening set at love to Dayana Yastremska in the 2nd Round, then had to fight off the Ukrainian in the 3rd set as Gauff's 3-0 lead turned into a 5-5 tie after Coco couldn't convert on three MP chances in game 9 on Yastremska's serve, then dropped her own in the next game. But Gauff then swept the final two games and won her next four matches in straight sets, taking out Ann Li, Belinda Bencic, Mirra Andreeva (improving to 3-0 vs. the teen, though this was their first meeting since 2023) and Swiatek, destroying the world #2 6-1/6-1 -- the Pole's worst loss since 2019 -- in a match that somehow probably wasn't even as close as the scoreline might suggest. It's Gauff third straight win over the same former #1 who once (just recently) dominated her between the lines (and maybe between the ears), but does so no more.

In her first 1000 final on clay, Gauff had the chance to become the *fourth* player this season (in less than five months!) to defeat both the world #1 and #2 on the way to a title. But that feat will have to wait for another day, as #1 Sabalenka took a 6-3/7-6(3) final to secure her third Madrid title.

Gauff is now just 170 points behind #2 Swiatek, and (finally) with a gust of wind behind her back can tout her two past SF results in Rome (2021 and '24), as well as a 19-4 record at Roland Garros since 2021 (w/ QF-RU-QF-SF finishes), as reasons why she'll be near (or at?) the top of the list of favorites for the biggest clay titles left on the '25 schedule.

Meanwhile, Kostyuk couldn't produce her second career 1000 SF, but she put up a fight in Madrid before finally falling in her first QF appearance in the event.



Wins over Emma Raducanu, Veronika Kudermetova and Anastasia Potapova gave Kostyuk her third career opportunity against Aryna Sabalenka. It was their first meeting since the '23 RG, and the Ukrainian hadn't won a set in either of their first two encounters, winning three or fewer games in three of the four sets. It was also their first meeting with the Belarusian holding down the #1 ranking.

Kostyuk still hasn't defeated Sabalenka, nor taken a set off her, but their two-TB tussle -- during which Kostyuk had SP in both sets -- proved to be a (still) early-season contender for the best straight sets match on tour in 2025.

Kostyuk's QF run was the best of her career in a clay court 1000 event. She'd been just 3-5 in Madrid before this year, and is still 1-4 in Rome. She *did* reach the Round of 16 at Roland Garros in 2021, but is only 4-5 in her career in Paris, though that doesn't include her the Olympic QF there last summer.
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SURPRISES: Moyuka Uchijima/JPN and Dalma Galfi/HUN
...as it turned out, Uchijima had a little bit more to give in the second week of her dream performance run in Madrid.

After opening week wins from a set down over Robin Montgomery and Ons Jabeur, the 23-year old upset #3 Jessie Pegula (her first Top 10 win) and Ekaterina Alexandrova (who'd won 8 of 10 clay matches in '25) to reach her maiden 1000 QF and crack the Top 50 for the first time.

Her run ended in emphatic fashion at the hands of Elina Svitolina, but Uchijima is set to land at a best-ever #47 in the new rankings.

Suddenly, Galfi is a player whose name people are (maybe) starting to know. (Yep, she was one of the Backspin's original PWKYK picks back in 2017.)

The 26-year old Hungarian claimed her second straight 125 title this weekend in Vic, Spain, following up her win in Oeiras last week in what was her third straight 125 final on clay this spring. Galfi's current 10-match winning streak added a no-sets-lost week in Vic that included defeats of Wang Xiyu, Kimberly Birrell, Guiomar Maristany and, in dominating 6-3/6-0 fashion, Rebeka Masarova in the final.



Galfi, on a 14-1 run in her last three events, returns to the Top 100 on Monday (her career high is #79 in 2022).

With the loss, Masarova drops her third straight 125 final since 2022. The Swiss played in Vic after (as a qualifier) she'd reached the Madrid 3rd Round (her second there in three years, both her best 1000 results) with wins over Ajla Tomljanovic and Yulia Putintseva.
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VETERANS: Elina Svitolina/UKR and Madison Keys/USA
...Svitolina arrived in Madrid off a title run in Rouen, and ultimately extended her winning streak to eleven matches (9 WTA, 2 BJK) as she reached her 12th career 1000 semifinal.

Wins over Sonay Kartal, Elena Rybakina, Maria Sakkari and Moyuka Uchijima set up Svitolina with a match vs. Aryna Sabalenka for a berth in what would have been the Ukrainian's biggest final since the 2019 WTA Finals. That reality -- which would have also meant her eighth career #1 win vs. a fifth different #1 player -- didn't play out for the 30-year old, but she contested a tight two-set defeat (6-3/7-5), forcing Sabalenka to twice serve for the win after getting a break of serve to knot the 2nd set at 5-5.

The Madrid run is the best of Svitolina's career, as she'd been just 3-8 in the event and had never advanced past the 2nd Round. She's got a better history in her *next* two events: 17-8 with two titles in Rome, and a personal career slam best 29 wins at RG with four QF results.

She'll climb to #14 in the new rankings.



Though she's a former RG semifinalist (2018), Paris would seem to be the least likely major site at which Keys would have another breakthrough result in the wake of her maiden slam title run in Melbourne in January. But, hey, "new" Madi can't be ruled out.

She did what was necessary in Madrid to maintain such viability, posting wins over Lucia Bronzetti, Anna Kalinskaya and Donna Vekic en route to the QF (a year after reaching the semis in the event), then put up a love set vs. defending champ Iga Swiatek in the 1st. Keys had lost all six sets she'd previously played vs. the Pole on clay, and it was the first bagel handed the four-time RG champ on the surface since 2019.

Keys ultimately lost to Swiatek in three, after pressing Iga down the stretch in the decider, but is still less than a year removed from picking up her maiden red clay crown last spring in Strasbourg. She's 23-5 on the year.



Can Keys carry over her major success at the AO into RG? At the very least, she might keep in play opportunities to reach the second week at all four majors in a season for just the second time in her career (2016, w/ four 4th Rd. results -- the closest she's come since was a QF-SF-3r-SF slam season in '18) and match or succeed her best combined year in the majors, a 16-win season during that same '18 stretch. So far in '25, of course, she's 7-0.
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COMEBACKS: Naomi Osaka/JPN and Kaja Juvan/SLO
...after her early exit in Madrid, Osaka's decision to drop down and take a wild card to play a 125 on clay was a good sign of her long-wavering commitment to at least try to win on a surface other than hard court. Her performance during the week-long tournament in Saint-Malo proved to be just as winning.

Osaka's title run on the dirt, her first win ever on clay and her first crown on any surface since winning the AO in 2021, included a comeback from a set down vs. Diane Parry (2nd Rd.) and a love 3rd set against Leolia Jeanjean (SF). In the final vs. Kaja Juvan, Osaka rallied from 4-2 down in the 2nd to complete a 6-1/7-5 straight sets victory.

Osaka has never reached the Round of 16 at RG, nor the QF in either of the clay court 1000 events in Madrid and Rome. In fact, this was her first career final on any level on the dirt, her first in a 125 event in a decade and her first singles title anywhere other than in a tour event in her pro career. 7-5 in WTA finals, she'd been a combined 0-5 in 125/ITF finals until her win this weekend.

Thus, the teaming with coach Patrick Mouratoglou produces *something* new and good for Osaka. For her sake, hopefully the "new" remains "good" in their partnership.



Juvan returned to tennis in January after having taken a long break since losing a 2nd Round match at the AO in 2024.

After some enouraging results in the opening months of '25, the 24-year old Slovenian produced her first big run with a final appearance in the 125 in Saint-Malo.

Wins over Greet Minnen, Celine Naef, Katie Volynets and Viktorija Golubic put Juvan into her second biggest career final (behind only tour-level Strasbourg in '22 -- a three-TB set loss to Kerber). She fell in straight sets to Naomi Osaka, but will see her ranking rise significantly from #515 to into the #360 range after improving her season mark to 17-7.


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FRESH FACE: Diana Shnaider/RUS
...though it's been hidden a bit with her doubles success, early season QF/3r runs in Adelaide and Melbourne and a stable ranking position (she's been ranked between #13-16 since September and either #13/14 all but one week this season), Shnaider's game and results have been off in '25 following her first full season on tour a year ago saw her win four titles (on three surfaces, the only WTA player to do it in '24) and reach a major Round of 16 (US) and 1000 SF in Toronto last summer.

Being only 9-10 on the year heading into Madrid, Shnaider's recent addition of former world #1 Dinara Safina coach makes sense.

Right on schedule after the change, the Hordette surged on the Spanish dirt, dropping three combined games vs. Katie Volynets and Anastasija Sevastova (love & love), giving Shnaider multiple match wins in an event for the first time since the AO. Against defending champ Iga Swiatek in the 4th Round, Shnaider recovered from a love 1st set to force a decider and stayed on the Pole's heels as she threatened to get the set back on serve in the late going.

Even with the loss, Shnaider (now 11-11 in '25) will rise to a new career high of #11, behind only her doubles partner Mirra Andreeva amongst the tour's Hordette contingent.
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DOWN: Iga Swiatek/POL
...not that this is *really* a new thought, but something is just not *right* with Swiatek. The question is what the cause of it is, for it surely seems to be some sort of mental hurdle, far more so than anything that has to do with the mechanics of any individual groundstroke or her serve, and maybe even any particular tactical mindset or stubbornness (though there's been a lingering issue there when it's come to accepting the sort of coaching that might make her less susceptible to be being put on her heels by power-oriented players).

The evidence of *something* was all over the world #2's (latest) failed title defense attempt in Madrid, which continued a title/final-less streak that has carried on since last year's Roland Garros. After losing to Alex Eala in Miami, Swiatek quickly fell behind against her in Madrid, as well, dropping the 1st set and falling down a break early in the 2nd before rallying to win. After getting past Linda Noskova in two (Swiatek *has* mostly figured out how to defeat *that* formerly vexing opponent, winning five straight times since the Czech's upset at AO24, though Noskova has taken her to three sets in their last three hard court match-ups), Iga was also taken into a deciding set by Diana Shnaider in the 4th Round despite having taken the 1st set from the Russian at love (her usual front-runner momentum didn't materialize in the 2nd).

Then came the QF, where Madison Keys *bageled* the Pole -- on clay -- in the 1st set before another comeback victory. Keys had previously lost all six sets she'd played against Swiatek on clay. Afterward, the Pole was propped up from the outside more for the rally than being questioned about the *screaming* red flag that that love set represented. It didn't take long for the *other* shoe to drop, either, as a day later Swiatek was run out of Madrid on a rail by none other than Coco Gauff in a 6-1/6-1 destruction. Gauff, previously just 3-11 vs. Iga, had lost all ten sets between the two on clay prior to the win that now gives her three straight W's in the series (after wins at the WTAF and United Cup). At one point in the match, Gauff led 6-1/5-0... and the Tennis Channel commentator lauded Swiatek for holding serve to avoid a *second* bagel set lost in consecutive days.

It was hardly the point.

After the love set lost vs. Keys was Swiatek's worst single set since 2019 (RG vs. Halep), her two total agames vs. Gauff were her fewest in a match since a loss that same year ('19 Birmingham vs. a certain Latvian).



When are we going to stop acting as if Swiatek is the same player she was just a year ago, and begin to look "behind the curtain?" When she's dropped out of the Top 5? The Top 10? Because that's where this story is headed if something doesn't change, starting with two *more* title defenses this spring in Rome and Roland Garros. Rather than tennis' version of "hearts and prayers" every time Swiatek is dumped on her head by an opponent not the least bit intimidated by her resume, why not ask why this is happening to a player who not long ago seemed as dominant a #1 as we'd seen since peak Serena Williams.

While far too many Iga supporters shout from the roof tops after a win, they whistle past the proverbial graveyard after yet another stunning defeat. The common denominator in every such situation, though, is a former #1 who more and more finds herself at the mercy of opponents who don't genuflect at her trophy case. The Keys match notwithstanding (not that Keys hasn't blown big leads and lost momentum in matches before), most of those instances end just like the loss to Gauff.

Swiatek's slip is no longer just about her issues vs. power players, and things can't be pinned on a coaching change (still, after Iga cast off two WTA Coach of the Year winners, Wim Fissette would be wise to keep a "go-bag" ready considering his stint has produced no victories of note since he came aboard in October). Instead an arched eyebrow *should* be directed toward Swiatek's longtime sports psychologist Daria Abramowicz, whose six-year run as part of the team would seem to be rather important at the moment considering Swiatek's issues seem more mental (i.e. related to lost confidence) than anything else.

At this point, Swiatek's problems seem to be getting worse, not better. And now it's happening on clay.

The question is, what precipiated this downward stretch? Her failure to win at the Olympics in Paris? The reverberations of her positive drug test last summer (which was soon followed by coach Tomasz Wiktorowski's exit)? She's won no titles, nor even reached a final, since either of those occasions. Or maybe it's something we have no clue about, and might not for a long time (if we *ever* do).

Whatever the case, the vulnerability once *only* showed against big hitters is now extending to other sorts of foes, frustration is mounting, she's acting out publicly quite often (including getting dinged for an aubible obscenity in the Gauff match), and has been seen in tears on more than one occasion during defeats, including against those with little experience and some (like Gauff) that she formerly dominated.

The thought has been that clay would prove to be Iga's best medicine, but thus far that has not been the case. In fact, more weeks like these past two in Madrid might just excelerate the trend that has seen Swiatek fall from #1 and now begin to feel legitimate heat from players behind her that *aren't* named Aryna.

What's the breaking point in this that might cause a huge reassessent on Swiatek's part and lead to some triggers behind pulled (i.e. a full reorganization of her team, including the possible exit of Fissette and maybe even Abramowicz)? A first week loss in Paris? At this point, could anyone *truly* rule that out (especially if the draw lines up a certain way)?

Stay tuned, and maybe buckle up.
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ITF PLAYER: Anna Bondar/HUN
...a season ago, Bondar put together title runs in a 125 (Hamburg) and three ITF challengers (in five finals). This week in Wiesbaden, the Hungarian claimed her first '25 win in a $100K event.

Bondar's first career $100K crown came after a week of wins over Sinja Kraus, Jodie Burrage, Simona Waltert and Darja Semenistaja, then a 6-2/6-4 victory in the final over Julia Grabher.

The run gives a bright spot to what had been a disapointing season for Bondar. She'd been just 11-14 in '25 before her five-win streak, but now will return to the Top 100 on Monday.


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DOUBLES: Sorana Cirstea/Anna Kalinsakaya, ROU/RUS
...Cirstea & Kalinskaya's sterling week in Madrid, which had already included wins over the #1 (Dabrowski/Routliffe via a 10-7 MTB) and #3 (Hsieh/Ostapenko in the SF) seeds, ended with a dramatic finish in the final vs. Veronika Kudermetova & Elise Mertens.

After Kudermetova/Mertens had rallied from 5-3 down, saving four SP in a TB, to take the opening set on their own SP #3, Cirstea/Kalinskaya won the 2nd to force a deciding MTB. Tied at 8-8, the teams traded off on three MP in the final moments. After having failed to put away the title at 9-8, then saving a MP at 10-9, the Romanian-Russian pair finally won it 12-10.

It's Kalinskaya's fourth and biggest tour doubles title, while Cirstea has now collected six in her long WTA career. The Romanian's first came seventeen years ago (2008), with her prior most recent win coming six years ago (2019 Lugano). It's Cirstea's biggest WD crown ever, by far, as she'd never won above the old International (now 250) level.


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[Madrid 4th Rd.+]



1. Madrid QF - Aryna Sabalenk def. Marta Kostyuk
...7-6(4)/7-6(7). Sometimes less *is* more (and not just w/ men's best-of-5 matches), but that's especially so if the "less" is two dramatic tie-break sets rather than a three-setter with little close competition and/or few big points.

Sabalenka prevailed despite Kostyuk holding SP in both sets, one when serving at 5-4 in the 1st and, after the world #1 had rallied from an early break down and held a MP while serving for the win at 6-5, three in the 2nd set TB before Sabalenka again finished strong to close out the final women's QF in rainy Madrid.

The weather had forced the closing of the roof in the TB... though it should have happened earlier, which would have avoided a mini-drama when Sabalenka wouldn't hit a second serve into heavy rainfall when down 4-5. When play resumed, the chair umpire's decision to give Sabalenka a first serve was, well, questionable at best. Kostyuk still managed to reach SP after the situation, but couldn't force a decider.


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2. Madrid QF - Iga Swiatek def. Madison Keys
...0-6/6-3/6-2. Well-earned kudos went out to Swiatek from many corners -- including, as usual, the she-walks-on-water contingent who bend the knee at the slightest provocation -- for recovering from dropping a love 1st set. But the more pertinent headline here wasn't about the comeback but the fact that she actually dropped a love set on clay, her first since 2019, in the first place.



Fact is, if everyone would be completely honest about it, if Swiatek was altogether "right," which she clearly hasn't been (by her lofty standards, at least) for much of the last eleven months, that 1st set shouldn't happen to her on clay against *anyone* (not even you-know-who) as long as she's upright on two feet.



And that notion of portending doom was backed up just one day later...
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3. Madrid SF - Coco Gauff def. Iga Swiatek
...6-1/6-1. First off, Gauff played great. But just like with the love set won by Keys a round earlier, Swiatek getting run off the court on her favorite surface should never happen in this way and she bears much -- if not the majority -- of the blame for as much. For if the Pole is whom she is *supposed* to be, this type of thing would simply never happen.

For Gauff, though, it could be the light that supercharges what has mostly been a "meh" season, ala her Cincinnati win over Iga (her first ever) led into a U.S. Open title run to close out the summer of 2023.

Gauff had never gotten a set off Swiatek in five meetings on clay prior to this, yet led 6-1/5-0 here. This marks her third straight win over Swiatek, against whom she'd once been 0-7 without a single set claimed (and that was less than two years ago).

Naturally, Swiatek's latest defeat came accompanied by all the "usual" notes: a win in the prior round (vs. Keys) that had set off the expected Iga-colored-glasses chorus of "she is who we said she was" plaudits by the Iga Well Wishers, the sight of Swiatek scurrying off court after dropping the 1st set (and being absent for nearly ten minutes after a "grueling" 34-minute opener, a by-now-tiresome occurrence that even got the match's Tennis Channel commentator to comment negatively), the frustrated kicking of dirt and shouts at her player's box and, this time, even a new one in a code violation call by the chair umpire for an audible obscenity.



Quite possibly *the* best front-runner in the game, Swiatek continues to often be one of the worst competitors when outright challenged by an opponent not left stunned by her mere presence on the other side of the court. And now such a thing is becoming more and more common for oponents *not* named Alona.

For Swiatek, this is most definity not an encouraging development. How long before another shoe drops in this story, and how long before it *needs* to if Swiatek is going to escape this, well, whatever *this* is?
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4. Madrid Final - Aryna Sabalenka def. Coco Gauff
...6-3/7-6(3). The last time Sabalenka faced off with Gauff for a title, she lost her grasp on her first U.S. Open crown despite winning the 1st set; and the last time she played in the Madrid final she failed to defend her '23 crown as she couldn't convert any of three MP en route to a loss to Iga Swiatek.

This time things were different (x2).

Still, there was more back and forth here than the score might suggest. Sabalenka led 4-1 in the 1st, but saw Gauff close to 4-3 before being broken to give the set to the world #1. In the 2nd, Gauff led 5-3 and served at 5-4. She fell behind love/40 but managed to hold a SP in game 10 before Sabalenka finally got the break on BP #5. Later, Gauff saved a MP and forced a TB, where Sabalenka took a 6-3 led and put away the title on MP #2 on a Gauff DF (#8).


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5. Saint-Malo FRA 125 1st Rd. - Tiantsoa Sarah Rakotomanga Rajaonah def. Tessah Andrianjafitrimo
...3-6/6-4/6-1. TSRR wins the tennis version of "The Name Game."

Sarah has more letters, so she was the betting favorite.
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HM- $100K Gifu JPN Final - Zhang Shuai def. Mananchaya Sawangkaew
...6-3/6-4. Just last season, Zhang was mired in a 24-match losing streak. This week, though, the Chinese veteran picked up her first singles title since winning tour-level Lyon in March 2022.

The 36-year old posted wins over 17-year old Wakana Sonobe (QF) and 16-year old Emerson Jones (SF) en route to the final, where she handled Sawangkaew, who had recently rebounded from a 1-5 skid in March, in straights.


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[Madrid 4th Rd.+]

1. Vic ESP 125 Final - Bianca Andreescu/Aldila Sutjiadi def. Leylah Fernandez/Lulu Sun
...6-2/6-4. An unexpected highlight for Andreescu's latest return to the court, as the Canadian wins her biggest career doubles title in the 125 in Spain. It's her first doubles crown anywhere since July 2018 in the Gatineau $25K in Canada, which came a season after her only tour-level WD final appearance in Quebec City. On both occasions, Andreescu teamed with fellow Canadian Carson Branstine, with whom she'd won the AO/RG girls' doubles titles in 2017.

Conversely, Sutjiadi has now claimed a fourth 125 crown to go along with the five WTA and sixteen ITF wins in her career.


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2. $100K Bonita Springs (FLA) USA Final - Astra Sharma def. Whitney Osuigwe
...6-2/6-2. Former junior star Osuigwe continues to lift her game eight years after her girls' triumph at Roland Garros in 2017.

After $50K and $35K wins, she reached her fifth '25 ITF final in a $100K, her second such final in her career (six years after a 2019 loss to Taylor Townsend), but fell to Aussie Sharma, who picked up her biggest singles title since taking a 125 in 2023.

Osuigwe is close (new #158) to re-entering the Top 150, where she hasn't been since 2019-20.
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Meanwhile, come 2300, it will be revealed that Professor Mayfair Bartkowski -- for reasons known only to her -- used her first time machine to travel back to 1981 and pick up Toby Kidd at the library of Emsley A. Laney High School in Wilmington, North Carolina (during 3rd period) and then switch her out with Iga Swiatek sometime during the summer of 2024.

The real Iga lived out the remainder of her days in early 22nd century Barcelona, winning six more Roland Garros titles while using the name "Toby Kidd" and joking about her resemblance to the four-time title winner from the 2020s. Meanwhile, the real Toby, after at first being uncomfortable in her own skin after undertaking the role of "Iga" decid-... well, we wouldn't want to give away any spoilers and ruin the fun to come, now would we?

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Here-here (speaking Backpin's longtime "tennis-is-a-product-that-is-being-sold-right?" language with this talk of outlawing same-outfit match-ups)...




Of course, the WTA, for one, doesn't even to understand that marketing campaigns are meant to sell the sport to potential new customers, gin up excitement for longtime fans, and generate media and/or viral interest.

So what are the chances that the tour -- or tennis -- will ever even recognizes this as a problem to begin with?


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In a follow-up to last week's match note concerning Grant... the smoke was legit.




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Meanwhile, I guess the WTA social media person that did this very same thing in a post (later deleted) when Camila Osorio won a third Bogota title (over five years) just last month has learned absolutely nothing in the interim...



It's shocking, I know, that an arm of the WTA continues to make the same obvious mistakes. Who would've ever guessed?


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During the pandemic Shutdown, I had a lot of space here and little tennis to fill it, so at one point I did a re-posted, re-written and updated version of the original "What If?" from days gone by:

Monica Seles: Almost the Best There Ever Was [WTA Backspin]
Monica Seles: Almost the Best There Ever Was [Backspin Tennis]

























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*2025 WTA SINGLES TITLES*
3 - ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR = 2 1000, 1 500
2 - Mirra Andreeva, RUS = 2 1000
2 - Madison Keys, USA = 1 GS, 1 500
2 - Jessie Pegula, USA = 1 500, 1 250
[2020-25]
22 - 1/2/8/6/5/0 = Iga Swiatek, POL
15 - 3/2/0/3/4/3 = ARYNA SABALENKA, BLR
8 - 1/5/2 = Ash Barty, AUS (ret.)
8 - 0/1/0/4/3/0 = Coco Gauff, USA
8 - 0/3/2/2/1/0 = Barbora Krejcikova, CZE
7 - 0/0/1/2/2/2 = Jessie Pegula, USA
7 - 1/0/1/2/3/0 = Elena Rybakina, KAZ

*CAREER WTA SINGLES TITLES - active*
31 - Petra Kvitova (2023)
22 - Iga Swiatek (2024)
21 - Victoria Azarenka (2020)
20 - ARYNA SABALENKA (2025)
18 - Elina Svitolina (2025)
17 - Karolina Pliskova (2024)
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ALSO: V.Williams (49), Wozniacki (30)

*LONG WTA (MD+BJK WG only) WINNING STREAKS - 2025*
16 - Madison Keys (January-March; ended by Sabalenka)
13 - Mirra Andreeva (February-March; ended by Anisimova)
11 - Aryna Sabalenka (January; ended by Keys)
11 - ELINA SVITOLINA (April-May; ended by Sabalenka)







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All for now.
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Sunday, April 27, 2025

Wk.17- Madrid in the Middle

Here comes... Sakkari?







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*WEEK 17*
[Madrid Q/1st-3rd Rd.]

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RISER: Anastasia Potapova/RUS
...quietly, Potapova has been putting together a deceivingly nice season.

Overall, the Hordette's numbers look good, with a nice winning percentage and title run in Cluj prior to showing up in Madrid having lost four of her last six matches. But big event success has prevented the Russian from making a true mark in '25. She went out in the 2r in Melbourne, Dubai and Indian Wells, and the 1r in Miami. She might have played #1 Aryna Sabalenka in Stuttgart, but pulled out with a hand issue and lost the opportunity to shine.

Finally, though, she's impressed in the spotlight on the Spanish dirt in the opening week, posting wins over Ashlyn Krueger, Zheng Qinwen and Sofia Kenin, saving a pair of MP in the latter affair to reach her fourth career 1000 4th Round, but first since Indian Wells '24, and first ever on clay (though she did reach the RG 4r last year).

With the wins, Potapova stands at 16-6 on the year.


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SURPRISE: Moyuka Uchijima/JPN
...Uchijima has been putting together some impressive moments of late, and that pattern has continued in Madrid.

The 23-year old started the week having won a match in which she saved MP in her last two events, during BJK Cup play (vs. Anca Todoni) and last week in Stuttgart (vs. Lois Boisson). The win over the Pastry gave her a pair of WTA wins from MP down, tying her for the tour lead (the BJK Cup win isn't counted in the total). This past week, Uchijima managed to stage additional comebacks, only more "conventional" ones as she won from a set down vs. Robin Montgomery and Ons Jabeur to reach her first 1000 3rd Round.

In the next round, Uchijima raised the stakes once more, posting her maiden Top 10 victory over #3-ranked Charleston champ Jessie Pegula to advance to the Round of 16.

Uchijima, who a year ago had yet to win a MD slam match but ran off three $100K title wins last spring, has since posted MD victories in three of the last four majors, and her Madrid triumphs mean she's done so in four consecutive 1000 events in '25, as well. She's yet to crack the Top 50, having been as high as #51 earlier this month, but is now just one victory away from securing that breakthrough during week two.
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VETERAN: Ekaterina Alexandrova/RUS
...Alexandrova's good clay form, which has already included Charleston and Stuttgart semis, has carried over to Madrid with first week wins over Rouen finalist Olga Danilovic and Dasha Kasatkina (in need of a good result, the new Aussie fell to 11-10 in '25).

Like Alona Ostapenko, the Hordette is very adept at runs, and her 2025 season has been full of them (both good and bad). So far this year, Alexandrova's stretches have included in-order marks of 1-3, then 8-0, then 0-4, and now 8-2 (in 10 clay matches). The eight clay court wins this year are more than she had in five of her last seasons, save for a 13-5 clay mark in '22 (when she had SF in Charleston and Madrid).

Alexandrova was 1-7 on the dirt in '24.
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COMEBACKS: Anastasija Sevastova/LAT and Maria Sakkari/GRE
...over the past six years, Sevastova hasn't played a whole lot of tennis. Aside from a 41-match campaign in 2021, the Latvian veteran has played just 32 times in the other five seasons combined during the stretch, with no more than six in any of the past four year.

Since the start of that '22 season, Sevastova has had a pair of playing absences that lasted 22 and 14 months, respectively. She had a baby during the first, a leave that ended in February of last year, and was rehabbing from a knee injury (which came just six matches into her comeback) during the second. She returned a week ago in $75K challenger, and this week was an unranked Madrid MD entrant while utilizing her protected ranking.

The 35-year old, a 2017 semifinalist in the event, opened with her first win in nine career meetings against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, then followed up with a victory over Stuttgart champ (and countrywoman) Alona Ostapenko. Sevastova is the "anti-Iga" in Alona's life, as she's 3-0 against her in their head-to-head series. Although, their meetings have been spaced pretty far apart: in 2015, 2019 and now 2025.

The week didn't end as Sevastova would have liked -- with a 44-minute, love & love loss to Diana Shnaider -- but a shot to reach a 1000 Round of 16 in just her second event back wasn't exactly an expected occurrence, either. Ending aside, she had a great week.

Also in Madrid, here comes... Sakkari? Yep. She's doing the thing again... but only after doing the thing again.



The Greek has reset her coaching table multiple times over the past fourteen months after having a stable set-up with Tom Hill for quite some time before several seasons of spinning her wheels (but somehow holding onto a high ranking) finally led to a parting of the ways last February after Sakkari briefly slipped out of the Top 10.

Sakkari had immediate success with new coach David Witt in the aftermath, reaching the Indian Wells final just a month later. Since then, though, times haven't been good. Despite the quick start, Witt was out come summertime, then Sakkari had to deal with a rare injury as her ranking sank. After three straight Top 10 seasons, and five consecutive Top 25 campaigns, Sakkari fell to #32 to end 2024. Having started the season at 7-13, she came into Madrid at #82 after dropping 50+ slots since March (when her I.W. points fell off).

But she came to Madrid *with* Hill once again, having just rehired the Brit. Once more, the change lit a Sakkari spark.

Through the first week in Madrid, the Greek has knocked off Wang Xinyu, Magda Linette and Jasmine Paolini. The Linette victory gave her consecutive victories for the first time since the Olympics last July, and the upset of Paolini was Sakkari's first Top 10 win since defeating Coco Gauff in the '24 I.W. semis the *last* time she played during the "honeymoon period" of a new/old coaching relationship.

It's Sakkari's first Top 10 win on clay since she defeated defending champion Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros in 2021.



Sakkari (as #31) was seeded at this year's AO for the 23rd consecutive major. That impressive streak should end come Paris, of course. Well, unless she goes and does something crazy between now and then.
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FRESH FACE: Yuliia Starodubtseva/UKR
...with her '25 season having been a struggle so far, 25-year old Starodubtseva had to struggle a bit more to find her first season success in Madrid.

The former Old Dominion University player arrived for qualifying ranked #99, just 3-12 on the season and on a four-match losing skid while having gone 4-17 since reaching the Beijing 1000 QF last fall. She posted Q-round wins over Pastries Chloe Paquet and Elsa Jacquemot, defeating the latter in a 7-5 3rd set of a 3:17 contest, to reach the MD.

From there, Starodubtseva has defeated Linda Fruhvirtova, Elisabetta Cocciaretto and Liudmila Samsonova in first week action. Against Samsonova, the Ukrainian rallied from 6-2/3-1 down to produce her second career 1000 4th Round result, saving 7 of 8 BP in the 2nd set to tie the match before winning a love 3rd.

It was nice moment for Starodubtseva, so much so that, if you look closely, it appears as if she *almost* forgot that she wasn't allowed to acknowledge the existence of her fallen opponent afterward. So you know it was huge.


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ITF PLAYERS: Wakana Sonobe/JPN and Iva Jovic/USA
...Sonobe continues to look like a player who could soon be doing big things.

A girls' finalist at the last two majors (winning the AO), the big-hitting 17-year old lefty made her WTA debut and got her maiden match win (w/ 36 winners vs. Yuan Yue) earlier this season in Abu Dhabi. This week Sonobe claimed her first pro title at the $100K challenger in Tokyo, defeating countrywoman Ena Shibahara in three sets in the final.

The win made Sonobe, born in January 2008, the third-youngest $100K winner in ITF history.



Meanwhile, in Charlottesville (Virginia), Jovic (born in December '07) added her name to that same early-achiever list (just a bit lower on it) with her own maiden $100K title run.

Jovic made her way through a draw that saw her down Claire Liu, Caty McNally, Whitney Osuigwe and Laura Pigossi (it took nearly 3:30 to take out the Brazilian, as the Bannerette won in three after being unable to convert on two MP chances in the 2nd) to reach her second career $100K final. A 6-0/6-1 win over Irina Bara got her the title.

Jovic's footsteps have been getting louder and louder over the past year, as last season she reached the junior SF at Wimbledon/U.S. Open, played in three girls' doubles slam finals (going 2-1 w/ Tyra Caterina Grant) and posted a MD women's draw win at Flushing Meadows, as well. She also got a 1st Round victory this year in Melbourne in her first AO before making her Indian Wells debut (w/ another 1r win) in March.

This is Jovic's fourth career ITF title. Already at a career-best #141, she's assured of a new career-high (she's the live #119) in the post-Madrid rankings.
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JUNIOR STARS: Teodora Kostovic/SRB and Julia Stusek/GER
...17-year old Serb Kostovic, in just her ninth pro event (6 ITF in 2024-25, and two previous Q-attempts this year in Abu Dhabi and Miami), made her 1000 MD debut in Madrid after posting qualifying wins over #85 Gabriela Ruse (3rd set TB) and #150 Lucrezia Stefanini.



The girls' #7 (WTA #625) came out on top in a handful of big junior events last season, including taking titles at Roehampton (pre-Wimbledon), College Park (pre-U.S.), the European Championships (18u) and the former Eddie Herr event (now IMG Academy Int'l Chsp.). She reached the QF in the junior singles at both Wimbledon and the U.S. Open in '24.

In Madrid, Kostovic lost to Eva Lys in her tour-level debut 1st Rounder.

Meanwhile, on the junior circuit, 16-year old Stusek (#10 seed) won an all-German battle in the J500 Offenbach (GER) final vs. #14-seeded Sonja Zhenikhova, 6-4/6-1, to claim her biggest career title. It's her first since last winning a J200 on the ITF level in 2023.

Stusek didn't drop a set in her six matches on the week.
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DOUBLES: Francisca Jorge/Matilde Jorge, POR/POR
...once more, make way for the Jorge sisters!

After two weeks ago leading Portugal out of zone play and into the nation's first BJK Cup Playoffs, 24-year old Francesca and 21-year old Matilde then defended their Oeiras 125 title last week. This week, they remained on home clay in Oeiras and picked up a $100K crown, defeating last week's tour-level Rouen champs Aleksandra Krunic & Sabrina Santamaria when they rallied from a set down before their opponents retired down 1-0 in the deciding MTB.

While they've yet to win a WTA tite, the Jorges have now claimed a 125 and four ITF titles in 2025. They've taken home 20 titles as a duo on the challenger circuit in their all-sister doubles career.

@fptenis

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WHEELCHAIR: Yui Kamiji/JPN
...after losing in a Super Series final to Li Xiaohui last week, WC #1 Kamiji was right back at it in a Japanese Series 2 event in Miki, Hyogo this week. Against competition that was mostly a step (or several) down from her usual, she swept the singles and doubles titles.

In singles, she lost just two total games, following up a pair of 6-0/6-0 victories and a SF walkover with a 6-1/6-1 defeat of #2 seed Saki Takamuro in the final, as well as taking the doubles alongside Kanako Domori in a final vs. two of the players Kamiji defeated in singles during the week, Chiyo Sasaki and Takamuro.
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[Madrid Q/1st-3rd Rd.]



1. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Iga Swiatek def. Alex Eala
...4-6/6-4/6-2. A relatively close call for Swiatek in a quick, different surface, re-do vs. her Miami conqueror Eala that could have come out *really* bad if things had further turned a certain way in the 2nd set.

Eala broke Iga to open both of the first two sets, but only claimed the 1st despite *twice* holding a set and break edge in the 2nd. Still, even with the loss, this has to be seen as a encouraging result for the Filipina.

The win keeps alive Swiatek's run of 55 straight knock-out events with at least one match win. She's been one-and-done just once in 68 events (Cincinnati '21) all the way back to her first Roland Garros title run in 2020.


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2. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Donna Vekic def. Emma Navarro
...4-6/6-3/6-2. Vekic's season has consisted of a few nice runs, a handful of losing streaks, and wins over Navarro.

The Croatian had come into Madrid on a three-match (and six-set) losing streak since she *last* defeated a then #8-ranked Navarro en route to an Indian Wells 4th Round result, and her win here gives her another 1000 Round of 16 (along w/ an AO 4r) this season along with a second Top 10 victory over the now #10-ranked Bannerette. It's just her second career Top 10 win (of 17 overall) on clay, with the last being over Coco Gauff at the Olympics last summer in Paris.

The previous three-match losing streak, ended this week with a 2nd Round win over Hailey Baptiste, had only been Vekic's *third*-longest such streak this season, as she's lost four in a row on two occasions in '25. As a result, even with three nice results in big events, Vekic is still only 7-10 on the year heading into Madrid's second week.



Hmmm, is this an "I respect you so much, and I'm happy for you" face, or quite the opposite? Navarro's face is hard to read sometimes.


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3. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Anastasia Potapova def. Sofia Kenin
...3-6/6-4/7-6(6). Potapova pulls one back from the edge of defeat, overcoming a 3-1 3rd set deficit and saving a pair of MP in the deciding TB. Down 6-4, Potapova swept the final four points to reach her first 1000 Round of 16 in fourteen months.

With the loss, Kenin becomes the first player to lose multiple WTA matches in '25 in which she held MP, while Potapova joins Veronika Kudermetova and Moyuka Uchijima as the only three players who've *won* multiple matches from MP down this season.


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4. Madrid Q1 - Tyra Caterina Grant def. Tatjana Maria 6-3/6-3
Madrid Q2 - Aliaksandra Sasnovich def. Tyra Caterina Grant 6-1/7-5
...17-year old Bannerette Grant was an incredible junior winner. She won three-quarters of a Junior Career Doubles Slam, but didn't contest the '24 U.S. Open girls' event -- the only one she was missing -- when she had the chance to become the first player to win all four.

Grant instead played in the pro competitions and ended up reaching the MX semis at age 16). She's already since won a pair of ITF titles in s/d.

Grant, a wild card into Madrid qualifying posted a nice opening win over veteran Tatjana Maria, but fell to Aliaksandra Sasnovich. She's also set to be a WC into Rome qualifying, which has led to some speculation. No idea how much fire there might be to that smoke, but it *is* an interesting potential path.



Grant's father is a U.S.-born basketballer who played professionally in Europe, where he married her mother, an Italian model. Here's an article about Grant from the ITF website from last year.
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5. Madrid Q2 - Francesca Jones def. Cristina Bucsa
...7-6(3)/3-6/6-1. Remember, Spanish BJK captain Carla Suarez Navarro called upon Bucsa (successfully) to defeat Marie Bouzkova in Ostrava!!! in the group-deciding Qualifiers tie that eliminated the Czechs on home court. On her own home ground in Spain, though, Bucsa failed to get out of qualifying.
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6. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Anastasija Sevastova def. Alona Ostapenko
...7-6(2)/6-2. Hmmm. Yep, right on brand for Alona. No matter that she's always had problems beating her countrywoman Sevastova.

Meanwhile, Iga breathed a sigh of relief since she might have faced Ostapenko *again* in the Madrid 4th Round.
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7. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Magdalena Frech def. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro
...5-7/7-6(2)/6-4. Well, Bouzas Maneiro's BJK Cup high lasted exactly a week, as the Spaniard here was back to losing the sort of match that she probably should have had in her back pocket.

Bouzas Maneiro led Frech 4-0 in the 1st, but still had to squeak out the win when she couldn't serving things out at 5-4. She led 3-1 in the 2nd, as well, and also served for the win at 5-4. Again, it didn't get done... and, unfortunately for her, the die was then cast for the rest of the contest.
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8. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Bianca Andreescu def. McCartney Kessler
...6-2/6-4. Andreescu records her first win of the season, but went out a round later vs. Elena Rybakina, 6-2/6-3.

I'm still not sure whether I'm on board with Andreescu's recent wearing of what seems like "practice attire" for live matches, but then I also think that men's basketball coaches should all go back to wearing suits on the sidelines like they did before the pandemic, too.



I mean, the actual competitions -- in tennis and basketball -- seem like they should at least *look* like they're the real event, you know? (Shrugs.)
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9. Madrid 3rd Rd. - Moyuka Uchijima def. Jessie Pegula
...6-3/6-2. Pegula came into Madrid with a shot to leave town having taken the #2 spot from Iga Swiatek should the defending champ fall short on the dirt this time around.

Courtesy of Uchijima's first career Top 10 win, that is no longer the case.
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10. Madrid Q2 - Jana Fett def. Antonia Ruzic
...6-2/3-6/6-4. Fett only made her 1000 MD debut last fall in Beijing at age 27, seven years after her maiden tour-level semifinal result.

Arriving in Madrid off a Stuttgart qualifying run and 1st Round Top 20 upset of Donna Vekic, the Croatian continued her good stretch to reach her second 1000 MD. She had an earlier Q1 win over Kamilla Rakhimova.

Fett's stay didn't last long, as she lost in the 1st Round to lucky loser Bernarda Pera.
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11. Madrid 1st Rd. - Katie Volynets def. Petra Kvitova
...6-4/6-0. It still isn't there for Petra, a three-time Madrid camp, since her return this year from maternity leave. Maybe it won't ever be again for the now 35-year old Czech. It's still very early, though.


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12. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Bernara Pera 2-6/6-3/6-1
Madrid 3rd Rd. - Belinda Bencic def. Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-3/4-6/7-6(2)
...the Brazilian finally ends her long losing streak, with had reached nine matches. Haddad Maia's last win had come over Andreeva -- Erika, not Mirra -- in the Australian Open 2nd Round.

What could have been a second week run hit a late wall against Bencic, though, as Haddad Maia lost a 4-1 lead in the 3rd before dropping a deciding TB against the Swiss.


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13. $100K Oeiras POR Final - Yuan Yue def. Greet Minnen
...4-6/6-4/6-2. In the week's third $100K challenger, Yuan plays in and wins in her first singles final on any level since she claimed her maiden tour-level crown in Austin early last year.

@fptenis

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14. $15K Antalya TUR Final - Sarah Melany Fajmonova def. Yuki Naito
...7-5/6-1. Another week, another Crusher champion.

This time, it's a maiden pro title for 18-year old Fajmonova, who knocked off three seeds (including #1 Naito in the final) in just her second event of the season.


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[Madrid Q/1st-3rd Rd.]



1. Madrid 1st Rd. - Veronika Kudermetova def. Polina Kudermetova
...6-2/6-2. In Stuttgart we got Andreeva vs. Andreeva II, and in Madrid it was the maiden version of Kudermetova vs. Kudermetova.

Earlier this year, Polina's run to a final in Brisbane pushed her past Veronika in the rankings. Since then, experience has had its say as former Top 10er Veronika has started to rebound from a disappointing 2024 season in singles (this win was her fourth in her first six clay matches this season). She came in at #52, holding a slight edge over her younger sister (#54).

Since her 10-1 start to the season, Polina has gone 4-9.


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2. Madrid 2nd Rd. - Veronika Kudermetova def. Cristina Bucsa
...4-6/7-6(1)/7-5. Kudermetova wins her second WTA MD match in '25 after being MP down (tying w/ Uchijima for the tour lead, and then later during this event being joined by Potapova).

Lucky loser Bucsa led 5-3 in the 3rd and served for the win, holding a MP at 5-4.
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3. Madrid 1st Rd. - Lucrezia Bronzetti def. Naomi Osaka
...6-4/2-6/6-4. Does Osaka really care much about clay? She hasn't won more times than she's lost on the surface in any season since 2019, and was only making her '25 debut on the surface with this match. If she's going to play RG I guess she realizes she should probably play at least a match or two beforehand.

Osaka started this year at 6-2, but has gone 3-3 since. She's still ranked outside the Top 50, and hasn't been any higher than #42 nearly a year and a half into her comeback.

Later, a good sign (at least in theory)...


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Yep.




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Whew!




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Yes, it's still clay court season...




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Oh, BTW, how's that #WTARallyTheWorld campaign going? Yeah, I didn't think so.

(Congrats to the most recent marketing firms who virtually *stole* a chunk of money from the tour for a "rebrand" that no one wanted nor embraced for a "campaign" that half-heartedly, at most, lasted, hmmm, what... about a week or two?)




















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Such sad news. Swanson is known most for his spectacular and detailed "Manhunt" book about the hunt and capture of John Wilkes Booth (if you've read it, you know the holdouts who think Dr.Mudd was innocent in the whole situation are blind to reality), but I also enjoyed his books on JFK's assassination ("End of Days") and another that had the dual focus of the celebrated trip of Lincoln's body across the nation and the capture of Confederate President (aka traitor) Jefferson Davis ("Bloody Crimes").


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All for now.
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