On Monday, April 27, Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina suffered a shocking loss to 56th-ranked Anastasia Potapova in the ongoing Madrid Open 2026. The Kazakhstani had lost her game to Austria’s Potapova by sets of 7-6 (10/8), 6-4. Advancing to the quarterfinals, Potapova will next face Karolína Plíšková on Wednesday, April 29.
Both players earned two breaks in the first set before Potapova edged out World No. 2 Rybakina in the tie-breaker. In the first set, Rybakina served for the set at 5-4, but Potapova struck back after saving a set point and went on to claim a tie-break by 10-8. The World No. 2 was initially leading the second set by 4-2, but the Austrian secured four consecutive games. Rybakina secured her fifth break point in the fifth game but lost the eighth and 10th games, resulting in her defeat.
Speaking post-win, Austria’s Potapova expressed her excitement and credited her team for the successful victory. “I’m speechless, I’m extremely happy, it was such a tough match and tough opponent. My team helped me today, they were there for me, big thanks (to them),” she said.
Before her exit, Rybakina’s campaign in Madrid had gone well. In the Round of 64, she defeated Elena-Gabriela Ruse by sets of 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Later, in the Round of 32, she overcame reigning Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng by sets of 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Earlier world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka defeated Naomi Osaka by sets of 6-7 (1/7), 6-3, 6-2 to secure her spot in the quarter-finals. Sabalenka is coming off a dominant run this year, securing the Miami, Indian Wells and Brisbane title. In the quarterfinals, she is set to face Australia’s Hailey Baptiste.
On the other hand, the third seed, Coco Gauff, was eliminated in three sets by Linda Noskova.
