Week that was in tennis: Swiatek edges out Sabalenka in epic final, Nadal gets emotional farewell in Madrid, and more!
Madrid was the place to be over the weekend, as the men's and women's draws were packed with exciting matches and dramatic finishes. And no match was more dramatic than the women's final, where No. 1 Iga Swiatek took on No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka. After three thrilling sets, Swiatek finally took the match 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (7) and claimed her 20th career title. With this win, Swiatek became the youngest player since Caroline Wozniacki in 2012 to win her 20th career title. As if that wasn't enough, she also became the first player born in the 2000s to reach the milestone.
In the men's draw, Andrey Rublev secured his second title of the year and 16th of his career after beating Felix Auger-Aliassime 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. This was Rublev's most significant victory of the year, as he had entered the tournament on a four-match losing streak and struggled with an illness that had prevented him from sleeping. This wasn't the only exciting news from the men's draw, though. Sebastian Korda and Jordan Thompson took home the doubles title in their first tournament playing together. And Rafael Nadal received a warm farewell in his final appearance at the Madrid Open. Although he lost in the round of 16 to Jiri Lehecka, the crowd gave him a hero's farewell, and he was presented with a commemorative trophy for all his achievements at the tournament over the years.
However, Madrid wasn't the only place hosting exciting tennis action this week. In the women's draw at the Charleston Open, Daria Kasatkina took on Emma Raducanu in an all-teenage final. Kasatkina ultimately won the match 3-6, 6-4, 6-1 for her first title since 2018. In other news, Rafael Nadal announced that he will be retiring from the French Open after this year's tournament. And last but not least, former world No. 8 Diego Schwartzman announced that he will be retiring after the US Open.
Lastly, Andrea Petkovic wrote a review for the new tennis movie "Challengers" for The Guardian. Petkovic, who retired from tennis last year, gave the movie five stars and praised it for its accuracy on tennis details. She praised director Luca Guadagnino, saying, "I would venture as far as to call it genius."
This week in tennis was full of exciting action on the courts and big announcements off them. From Swiatek and Sabalenka's epic final to Rublev's battle back to the top and Nadal's emotional farewell, Madrid lived up to its reputation as one of the most exciting events on the tennis calendar. With Petkovic's rave review of "Challengers" and Kasatkina's win in Charleston, the tennis world has plenty to be excited about heading into this week.