Swiatek and Sabalenka fight for the winner’s cheque of €963k at the Madrid Open this weekend

Finals weekend is getting underway at the Madrid Open with two very different stories in the women’s and men’s draws.

It’s a rematch of last year’s final for the WTA, as world No. 1 Iga Swiatek takes on world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who came out on top 12 months ago.

A new champion will be crowned on the ATP side as Andrey Rublev faces first-time Masters finalist Felix Auger-Aliassime on Sunday.

The Madrid Open is a joint ATP and WTA tournament and offers equal prize money for men and women. There is a total prize money pot of £6,758,033 (€7,877,020) on offer per tour for the singles.

Swiatek, Sabalenka, Rublev, and Auger-Aliassime will all be playing for the top prize, a winner’s cheque of £826k (€963k) when they take to the Manolo Santana Stadium over finals weekend. Meanwhile, the runner-up will pocket £439k (€512k).

 The winners will also receive 1000 ranking points for their efforts. However, as the defending champion, Sabalenka can only retain the points she earned for lifting the trophy a year ago. The world No. 2 is keen to fight for another title after edging out Swiatek in a close three-setter 6-3 3-6 6-3 when they met at the same stage 12 months ago.

“I mean, it's going to be a great final. We had so many great matches with Iga. Always tough battles,” the 25-year-old said after beating Elena Rybakina in the semi-final. “I'm super excited for this final. Once again, I'm going to do everything to get this win.”

Swiatek and Sabalenka have met nine times, with the Pole leading their head-to-head with six wins to three losses. However, she still feels that she hasn’t always been able to implement her game plan when facing Sabalenka.