Aryna Sabalenka’s path to defending her Madrid Open title began with victory on Thursday.
The Belarusian, a key contender for the Roland Garros title later this year, defeated American player Peyton Stearns 7-5, 6-3 in the Caja Magica.
Sabalenka, a three-time champion in the Spanish capital, is looking to become the first player in tournament history to win four titles.
How many Grand Slams will Aryna Sabalenka win this year?
She looks unstoppable right now!
The 28-year-old will look to continue her progression at this year’s event when she takes on 29th seed Jacqueline Cristian in the third round.
Ahead of her clash with Cristian, Sabalenka has already recorded her name in the tennis history books.
Aryna Sabalenka has contested her 50th WTA 1000 match as world number one
After playing Peyton Stearns on Thursday, Aryna Sabalenka is now one of only three players to have played 50 matches at WTA 1000 events as the world number one.
According to OptaAce, Serena Williams and Iga Swiatek are the only other WTA players to achieve this feat since the WTA 1000 format’s introduction in 2009.
This week also marks Sabalenka’s 87th week as the world number one – 12 ahead of Swiatek’s total of 75.
Serena Williams, meanwhile, spent 319 weeks as the world number one during her trophy-laden career on the WTA Tour.
Looking ahead to Sabalenka’s next match, the Belarusian has only played Jacqueline Cristian once before on the WTA Tour.
The pair played each other just last month in Indian Wells. In the round of 32, Sabalenka defeated the Romanian player 6-4, 6-1.
Aryna Sabalenka’s path to the Madrid Open title
- First round: Bye
- Second round: defeated Peyton Stearns 7-5, 6-3
- Third round: Jacqueline Cristian
- Fourth round: Naomi Osaka / Anhelina Kalinina
- Quarter-finals: Jasmine Paolini / Belinda Bencic
- Semi-finals: Iga Swiatek
- Final: Coco Gauff / Elena Rybakina
The winner of Sabalenka and Cristian will play Anhelina Kalinina or Naomi Osaka in the Madrid Open fourth round.
Sabalenka and Osaka – who have both won four Grand Slam singles titles – have a 1-1 record on the WTA Tour.
Sabalenka won their last contest, defeating the Japanese star 6-2, 6-4 at the 2026 Indian Wells Open.
Peyton Stearns suffers the same fate in Madrid
This was not the first time Peyton Stearns has lost to Aryna Sabalenka in Madrid.
Just last year, the American was defeated by the Belarusian in the fourth round.
Sabalenka, who won the contest 6-2, 6-4 at the Caja Magica, saved 12 of the 13 break points she faced on her own serve.
Aryna Sabalenka or Iga Swiatek… who do you prefer? 🤔
The Belarusian also struck three aces and won almost 78 per cent of her first serve points.
Following Sabalenka’s victory at this year’s Madrid event, the Belarusian’s record against Stearns now sits at 3-0.
“That was a super tough match,” Sabalenka said after Thursday’s victory. “Especially like first match on clay and it’s against Stearns, she’s an incredible player, I feel like this court suits her game really well.
“I knew that she was going to go really up high, and I’m glad that the more I was staying on the court, the better I was feeling, and I’m really hoping that in the next one, I’ll bring better tennis.”
