Iga Swiatek experienced a heart-in-the-mouth moment in the aftermath of his thrilling three-set win over Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open final.
The top-seeded Swiatek saved three match points to beat the former champion Sabalenka in a repeat of last year’s final. The match lasted the full three hours, and when Sabalenka misfired her final backhand, the Pole fell to the turf in a show of pure elation and relief.
It was the first time that Swiatek had won in Madrid, the one big European clay-court title that was missing from her flourishing resume. It was also her first career final that went into a deciding third-set tie-break.
The victory cemented Swiatek’s dominance at the top of the rankings and served as a statement of intent before Roland Garros that she would once again be the woman to beat.
While Swiatek remains as unfazed as ever when competing on clay, she’s certainly not fond of the confetti cannon that went off during her post-match celebration.
Soon after collecting her champion’s trophy and giving her victory speech, she stood on the podium in front of the photographers when a loud thud took her by surprise. And from the video shared on X (formerly Twitter), the World No. 1 tries to duck for cover.
But it was only signaling that the confetti cannon had gone off to celebrate his coronation. She quickly turned around and nearly lost her trophy for a moment before smiling.
Apparently, Swiatek wasn’t the only one caught off guard. Great Britain’s Billie Jean King Cup team captain Anne Keothavong, who was working on the Sky Sports tennis panel courtside, was equally frightened.
There will be no rest for weary, with Swiatek already making travel arrangements to head to Rome for the last WTA 1000 before the French Open. She will be the top seed there.
The Italian Open’s main draw begins on Tuesday, May 7th. She has won the tournament twice in her career but retired in the quarterfinal last year.
