Aryna Sabalenka defeats Naomi Osaka at Mutua Madrid Open in just third meeting between both players

Despite their excellent runs in the women’s rankings over the years, Aryna Sabalenka and Naomi Osaka haven’t met much on the tennis court. Since both players have been active, they’ve played just two times, with each player taking a win in the head-to-head matchup.

But Monday provided one of Sabalenka or Osaka to take a lead in that matchup, as both players squared off in the Mutua Madrid Open.

While it was a tight match early, Sabalenka found her stride late, winning the match in three sets. The win gave Sabalenka a narrow 2-1 lead in her head-to-head matchups against Osaka.

The win also gave Sabalenka a 15-match win streak.

While Sabalenka entered with the higher ranking — No. 1 overall — it was Osaka who got off to the better start. Both players kept the first set close, sending it to a tiebreak. But when the dust settled, Osaka emerged as the winner 7-6, taking a 1-0 lead in the match.

Sabalenka, however, wasn’t going down without a fight. The early loss didn’t shake her, as she rallied to defeat Osaka 6-3 in the second set, setting up a winner-take-all third set.

It proved to be a back-and-forth final set early, as both players traded wins over the first four games. Sabalenka was able to put a stop to that trend in the fifth game, taking a 3-2 lead in the final set.

From there, Sabalenka took over the match, winning the next three games to win the set 6-2 and take the match.

With the win, Sabalenka will advance to the quarterfinals, where she’ll take on Hailey Baptiste on Tuesday.

Aryna Sabalenka vs. Naomi Osaka head-to-head

Prior to Monday’s matchup, Sabalenka and Osaka had only met twice on the court. The first matchup took place back in 2018, when Osaka defeated Sabalenka in three sets in the U.S. Open round of 16.

The two played a second time back in March at Indian Wells. Sabalenka came out on top this time, winning in straight sets. She went on to win the event.

While both players have had extremely high moments in the sport, the two have rarely faced due to off-the-field circumstances. Sabalenka pointed out to WTATennis.com that her rise to the top of the women’s rankings coincided with Osaka missing time due to the birth of her daughter.

With both players back and playing at high levels, Sabalenka and Osaka should have plenty more chances to add to their budding rivalry.

This story will be updated.