{"id":75757,"date":"2021-12-31T12:28:16","date_gmt":"2021-12-31T11:28:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/desarrollo.mutuamadridopen.com\/?p=66760"},"modified":"2021-12-31T12:28:16","modified_gmt":"2021-12-31T11:28:16","slug":"5-wta-moments-at-the-mmopen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/desarrollo.mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/5-wta-moments-at-the-mmopen\/","title":{"rendered":"5 WTA moments at the MMOPEN"},"content":{"rendered":"

With just a few days left until the end of 2021, we take a look back at the highlights of the women\u2019s Mutua Madrid Open, an extended tournament that lasted two weeks from 26 April to 9 May. In the end, it was Aryna Sabalenka that claimed the title in a great final against world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty. Here are five memorable moments from the WTA event, chosen by our director Feliciano L\u00f3pez.<\/p>\n

Sabalenka takes the throne<\/strong>
\nThe two best players of 2021 played for the trophy in the Caja M\u00e1gica in the final of the Mutua Madrid Open. At the time, Aryna Sabalenka was the world No. 7, while Ashleigh Barty was the hot favourite and the WTA\u2019s No. 1 player. It was the Belarusian who came out on top, 6-0, 3-6, 6-4, to become the eighth champion in Madrid (since 2009).<\/p>\n

Having seen off Zvonareva, Kasatkina, Pegula, Mertens and Pavlyuchenkova en route to the final without losing a set, she took the baton from Kiki Bertens as the tournament\u2019s new champion. The Belarusian and Dutch players share the Mutua Madrid Open winners\u2019 circle with Petra Kvitova, Simona Halep, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, Aravane Rezai and Dinara Safina.<\/p>\n

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\nBadosa\u2019s breakthrough
\n<\/strong>One of the standout performances at this year\u2019s Mutua Madrid Open was produced by Paula Badosa. By reaching the semi-finals, she enjoyed the most successful run by a Spanish woman at the tournament, overhauling the mark set by Carla Su\u00e1rez and Anabel Medina, who both reached the quarters.<\/p>\n

She started her campaign against Krejcikova, then came back against Teichmann and Sevastova before beating Bencic in the quarter-finals. Just one step away from the final, she was unable to fend off Barty (4-6, 3-6). It was the first of many highlights in her season, which she finished at No. 8 in the WTA Ranking.<\/p>\n