It seems impossible to beat Igu Sviatek on clay: the world’s number one racket reached the finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Madrid, beating Veronika Kudermetova.

Iga Svyatek – Aryna Sabalenko, in the WTA Madrid final

The athlete from Poland did not give her opponent from Russia a single chance and won in two sets with a score of 6-1, 6-1. The match lasted one hour and 19 minutes.

In the grand final at Caja Magica, Iga will beat Aryna Sabalenko (2 WTA). They also met in the last action in Stuttgart, and the Pole won: 6-3, 6-4.

Know:

• This is only the third time in the last 40 years that the WTA No. 1 and No. 2 have met twice on clay in the same season. It was the same in 1984 (Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert at Amelia Island and Roland Garros) and in 2013 (Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova at Stuttgart and Roland Garros).

• The last final between the WTA No. 1 and No. 2 in the WTA 1000 was in 2014, when Serena Williams beat Na Li at the Miami Open.

Milestones achieved by Iga Sviatek after qualifying for the WTA Finals in Madrid

• Iga Svyatek qualified in 8 finals from the first 14 tournaments played on clay. Monica Seles was the last to do it (1989-1992 / 13 finals in the first 14 tournaments).

• Sviatek won his first eight semifinals on clay. Only Peaches Bartkovic (1968-1969) and Venus Williams (1998-2003) accomplished the feat in the Open Era.

• The Pole’s first-set record is 23-0 in 2023, 45-0 in WTA 1000 tournaments and 48-1 on clay.

The WTA Mutua Madrid Open takes place from April 25 to May 7 on clay in the Caja Magica complex. It is in the WTA 1000 category, has a total prize money of US$7,652,174, and the title holder is Ons Jabert. Simona Halep won in 2016 and 2017.