Aryna Sabalenka survives patchy opener, overcomes Peyton Stearns for Madrid milestone

Aryna Sabalenka lived up to her status as favourite and defeated Peyton Stearns 6-2, 6-4 to move into the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 Madrid Open. The World No. 1 overcame a resilient Stearns in the second set and earned a commanding win — her 20th career victory in Madrid — as she continues her pursuit of a third title at La Caja Mágica.

Both players had some early struggles on serve, but it was the three-time Grand Slam champion who raised her level in the key moments. Sabalenka will now face the winner of Marta Kostyuk vs. Anastasia Potapova in the next round.

Both players held serve early, but the errors began to creep in. Sabalenka seized her first break opportunity in the third game to go ahead and had to fight off four break points in the next game to consolidate her 3-1 lead.

She broke again in the seventh game, giving her a decisive edge in a tricky set where she saved 10 break points overall, eventually closing it out 6-2 — a scoreline that doesn’t fully reflect the patchy play from the 26-year-old.

Once again, Sabalenka capitalised on Stearns' issues with her second serve and secured an early break, racing to a 2-0 lead. The American managed to claw her way back and had break chances but couldn’t convert.

Stearns finally broke in the sixth game to level things at 3-3, then held serve comfortably to take the lead for the first time and looked more confident than at any point in the match. But Sabalenka, showing the composure of a World No. 1, responded immediately with a break of her own and went on to serve out the match for a 6-2, 6-4 win.

The Belarusian moves into the quarterfinals at the Madrid Open for yet another year, having won the tournament in 2021 and 2023, and finished runner-up in 2024 to Iga Swiatek. With 20 victories, Madrid is the WTA 1000 event where she holds the most wins.