5th May 2025
After almost close to two weeks of tennis, the Madrid Open has concluded. It was a great event and will hopefully be followed by an even better one in Rome, which is set to begin this week. These two Masters events are the main lead-ups to the Roland Garros Grand Slam, which is quickly approaching.
Keep reading to find out all the latest developments that unfolded in Madrid, both on and off the court, and what we can expect from Rome.
Champions Corner
There was lots of great tennis played in Madrid this week, and we now know which two players came out on top.
On the women’s side, it was Aryna Sabalenka once again claiming the trophy in Madrid, proving once more that she is currently the best tennis player in the world. She bested Coco Gauff 6-3, 7-6(3) to secure yet another Masters trophy. Sabalenka has now reached the final in her last four events—Indian Wells, Miami, Stuttgart, and Madrid—winning titles in Miami and Madrid.
On the men’s side, we had an excellent final between Casper Ruud and Jack Draper.
Even though Draper had initially the upper hand it was Ruud who ended up winning the match in three sets.
The Norwegian has been underperforming for a while so this was a massively important win for him.
?? @CasperRuud98 ??
— Rafa Nadal (@RafaelNadal) May 4, 2025
Congratulations! So happy for you and your team! Well deserved! ??? https://t.co/0ZGhdy1nvD
Novak Djokovic won’t play in Rome
While Novak Djokovic has been a staple in Rome for close to two decades now, the Serbian will miss this year’s event. Djokovic has won the tournament six times, as it often served as the primary test ahead of Roland Garros.
That won’t be the case this year, as he has opted to skip the event. He didn’t really let on as to why he’s skipping, but it’s not due to an injury—which fans will be glad to hear. Instead, it seems to be a scheduling decision, and a rather curious one. Djokovic has barely played on clay this season.
He didn’t look great when he did play, so removing himself from more clay matches doesn’t make much sense—unless he’s deliberately cutting back on the clay season, which would make even less sense because it’s Djokovic. Clearly, a lot of things have changed in his approach. This is not the Djokovic of old.
Casper Ruud shares mental battle
Casper Ruud hasn’t been playing tennis at a spectacular level for a while. This is a tennis player who made a couple of Grand Slam finals and had a chance to become world number one a few years ago.
He peaked at number two, so seeing his name outside the top 10 seemed strange—but it happened. He opened up in Madrid about how he’s been feeling.
“I haven’t been feeling great mentally this year, but I sought help, which has really worked for me. I’ve noticed a quick response and have been feeling a lot better. That’s really helped—to have someone to talk to about certain things. Life is tough in many ways, and it got to a point where it felt like too much. I’m happy to feel more joy and be in a better place.”
Power outage in Madrid
Something really odd happened at the Madrid Open last week. A massive power outage that affected large parts of Portugal and Spain disrupted the event, pausing play for an entire day.
Play was stopped early in the day and didn’t resume until the next day, once the power was restored. It was one of the largest power outages in either country’s history—certainly in modern times—and it had a tremendous impact on the event.
Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur troll players
Another memorable scene away from the courts featured the tennis couple Katie Boulter and Alex de Minaur playfully trolling players during their ride toward the complex. A few players were given a ride buddy on their way to the courts, who received instructions from the couple on what to say.
Players who found themselves in this prank included Jasmine Paolini, Emma Navarro, Mirra Andreeva, Alex Michelsen, Taylor Fritz and Casper Ruud. They all handled it pretty well.
Coming up this week
Finally, we have to talk about what’s coming up next week. It’s the Italian Open, the third clay Masters of the season and the final one, actually. It’s the last big event before Roland Garros, which is only a few weeks away.
Like the Madrid Open, the Italian Open is a two-week event, so players will be there for a while. It’s a hugely popular tournament with a big attendance and iconic courts like the Foro Italico.
Should be a great week of tennis, even though there won’t be any Djokovic. The big news is the return of Jannik Sinner, who has been sidelined from professional tennis for three months due to a failed drug test last year.
