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Title winners
Jannik Sinner showed no signs of taking his foot off the gas in the Spanish capital and extended his relentless ATP Masters 1000 winning streak to reach a milestone on Sunday, when he put Alexander Zverev to the sword to claim the title at the Mutua Madrid Open.
The Italian world No. 1 cruised past the helpless German to record a 6-1, 6-2 championship-match triumph inside Caja Mágica as Sinner became the first player to win five consecutive Masters 1000 events.
Sinner looked sharp from the start of the match on Sunday as he broke Zverev's serve repeatedly and raced into a 5-0 first lead against the second seed, as he didn't face a single break point while he was ruthless in converting all four break points himself.
Sinner then asserted his dominance by breaking Zverev to lead 2-1 in the second set, and then broke once to edge 5-2 in front before he finally served out the match to claim the honours against Zverev, who was looking for his third title in Madrid.
The seemingly unbeatable Italian has amazingly dropped just two sets across his five title runs (in Paris last November and Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Madrid in 2026), and didn't concede a single break point in his ninth successive win against the German world No. 3.
Thanks to the win, Sinner went on to overtake Novak Djokovic, who won four consecutive events on three occasions, and Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who won four straight tournaments in 2013.
If Sinner manages to go on and lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires (the Musketeers' Trophy) awarded to the men's singles champion at the French Open, he will complete a career Grand Slam of winning all four majors - becoming only the 10th man to do so.
The spectators in Madrid were not treated to the almost traditional Sinner-Alcaraz duel in the final as the Spaniard, who became the youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam with his Australian Open triumph in January, was not able to take part in Madrid due to a wrist injury, which will also keep him out of the French Open.
May 3rd, 2026, is not a date that Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk will soon forget as she beat Mirra Andreeva in straight sets to win the Madrid Open and gain her first title at the WTA 1,000 level.
Kostyuk's one-hour and 21-minute victory extended her unbeaten run on clay this spring to 12 straight matches, which is the longest winning streak of her career.
Kostyuk went into her first WTA 1000 event of the clay-court season on the back of claiming the trophy at the WTA 250 in Rouen, France, after also boosting her confidence with a Billie Jean King Cup win for Ukraine over Magda Linette.
The unsung Ukrainian created shockwaves by beating Jessica Pegula during the tournament and lost just one set on her way to the title, in the semi-finals against Anastasia Potapova.
During the final, Kostyuk gave a terrific display of raw power and great defence, which the 19-year-old Andreeva, who is known for her polished and patient approach, struggled to deal with.
Kostyuk, who is ranked 23rd in the world, went on to win 6-3, 7-5 against her Russian opponent to become only the second player outside of the top 20 to claim the trophy in the Spanish capital.
It was Kostyuk's third title overall on the WTA tour and her second this season, after she won the Rouen Open, also on clay, two weeks ago.
Biggest strugglers
On her best days, China's former Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng seems capable of challenging the best players in the world. Often described as having a "masculine" style due to her high-intensity, heavy-hitting approach, she is well known for dictating play with a combination of power and precision.
However, it's been a while since we have seen her aggressive, high-powered baseline game, exceptional serve, and mental resilience. While she established herself as a top player, winning Olympic Gold in 2024, her 2025/26 season has been marred by chronic right elbow issues. She missed big parts of the 2025 season and withdrew from the first major event of the year at the Australian Open.
Consequently, Qinwen Zheng has experienced a notable drop in her world ranking. After reaching a career-high ranking of No. 4 in June 2025, she has slipped down to number 34.
However, there is hope for Zheng that she is on her way to her former level. She reached the third round in Madrid before crashing out to Elena Rybakina in three sets. Now she heads for Rome, where she went as far as the semi-finals in the Italian Open last year, and perhaps Foro Italico will see he recover her best tennis.
Standout moment
Jannik Sinner suddenly found himself in the middle of an awkward moment during his victory interview in Madrid after he defeated Denmark's Elmer Moller in the third round of the tournament.
As the interviewer asked Sinner how good his Spanish was and what measures he was taking to learn the language, the tennis star said he's been utilising the language-learning apps Duolingo and Babbel. "I still need to find out which one, Duolingo or the other one, Babbel, so let's see," said Sinner.
But the interview then went off course as the interviewer appeared to misunderstand Sinner's reference to Babbel for the dating app Bumble, and told Sinner: "Bumble is a dating app."
Sinner didn't appear to understand at first that the interviewer wasn't talking about the language-learning app. "Oh, Babbel," the interviewer said as he realised his mistake. Sinner quickly added, "But anyways, it's not a dating app. I don't need a dating app," before awkwardly hiding his face with his hands on the broadcast.
Sinner has been allegedly dating Danish model Laila Hasanovic since last year.
Best rallies
Casper Ruud returned to Madrid as the defending champion but was defeated in the quarter-final by the emerging Belgian talent Alexander Blockx. However, he did come out on top in this incredible 32-shot rally against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in a baseline duel where patience for the right time to attack became a virtue:
Austria's Anastasia Potapova was one of the big surprises in Madrid, where she reached the semi-finals after beating Rybakina on her way. Her amazing backhand down the line in this rally against the Kazakh star was symbolic of her incredible level throughout the week in the Spanish capital.
Upcoming events
After Madrid, the elite of the ATP and WTA Tours head east for Rome to do battle at the legendary clay courts of Foro Italico over the next two weeks.
Should Sinner manage to claim the title at the Foro Italico, he will join Djokovic as the only men to complete the Career Golden Masters.
The 38-year-old Djokovic has won all nine ATP Masters 1000 events twice. The experienced Serb is set to return to action in Rome for the first time since a fourth-round showing in Indian Wells.
In the women's tournament, Jasmine Paolini returns as defending champion after her historic win in 2025, becoming the first Italian woman in 40 years to win the singles title.
World No. 1, Aryna Sabalenka, will also be present in Rome, and after her disappointing exit in Madrid against Hailey Baptiste in the quarter-final, where she squandered no less than six match points, Sabalenka will aim to get back to her best in the Italian capital, where she has never won the title before.
Find everything you need to know about the Italian Open here.