Sabalenka moves to 25–1, cruises into Madrid Open fourth round
Hope
World number one Aryna Sabalenka continued her dominant 2026 campaign with a commanding straight-sets victory over 29th seed Jaqueline Cristian, advancing to the fourth round of the Madrid Open on Saturday.
Sabalenka secured a 6–1, 6–4 win to extend her season record to 25–1 and set up a fourth-round clash with Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
The Belarusian has carried her strong hard-court form seamlessly onto clay, having completed the “Sunshine Double” in March with titles at Indian Wells and Miami. Her only defeat this season came in the Australian Open final against Elena Rybakina.
Cristian briefly threatened in the second set, earning four break points while trailing 4–2, but Sabalenka held firm, saving them all before breaking back and closing out the match.
Osaka advanced earlier in the day with a 6–1, 6–3 win over Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina. The Japanese player dominated on return, breaking serve six times and maintaining sustained pressure throughout.
Sabalenka and Osaka have met twice previously, sharing one win each. Their most recent meeting saw Sabalenka win 6–2, 6–4 at Indian Wells.
Elsewhere, 31st seed Ann Li produced the day’s biggest upset by defeating fourth seed Iga Swiatek, who retired due to illness while trailing 7–6 (7–4), 2–6, 3–0.
Ninth seed Mirra Andreeva continued her strong clay-court season with a 6–3, 6–2 win over Hungary’s Dalma Gálfi, improving to 9–1 on the surface in 2026.
In other matches, Hayley Baptiste upset Jasmine Paolini 7–5, 6–3, Belinda Bencic edged Diana Shnaider 6–2, 7–6 (8–6), Anna Bondar defeated Laura Samson 7–6 (7–3), 6–1, and Leylah Fernandez came from a set down to beat Iva Jovic 3–6, 6–3, 6–2 in a two-hour, eight-minute contest.
Fernandez will meet Ann Li in the fourth round.
