World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka’s campaign in Madrid ended on Tuesday, April 28. Hailey Baptiste disrupted the 15-match winning streak of the Belarusian after defeating her by sets of 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) in the quarterfinals game. In the decider, the American saved five match points to come at 4-5 and added a sixth in the tiebreak to win the game. For Sabalenka, the defeat is her first since the Australian Open finals game held three months ago.
The three-time champion in Madrid struggled to defeat the 30th-seeded Baptiste, whose huge serves and groundstrokes have led her to the semifinals round. Baptiste ended the duel with a total of 12 aces and 10 double faults. She also saved a match point through a bold serve-and-volley approach to end the game after two hours and 30 minutes.
The 24-year-old American will next face ninth-seeded Mirra Andreeva, who secured her semifinal spot after defeating Canada’s Leylah Fernandez by sets of 7-6(7/1), 6-3. Andreeva will play her first Madrid semifinal.
Andreeva was a recent champion in Linz and has improved her clay-court record to 11-1 this season.
Speaking on her win and defeating a top-seed player like Sabalenka, Baptiste highlighted the momentum that she is currently playing and seeks to keep it until the finals.
She said, “Incredible. Super proud of myself. It was a super tight match, 7-6 in the third. Had to fight off match points; I’m really happy right now. It just shows me where my game lies. I’ve always believed it. Now I’m starting to put it into action, and the world is seeing it as well.”
Baptiste has won one WTA doubles title in Charleston in 2021 and a second at the WTA Challenger titles.
World No. 1 Sabalenka had entered the tournament as a three-time champion (2021, 2023, 2025) in the Madrid event and was coming off a match-winning streak of 15.
Despite the exit, she maintains her lead at the top of the WTA Rankings, with rival Elena Rybakina behind by just a narrow gap. The Belarusian is the first player to lose in a match with a lead of six points in Madrid since her 2024 finals game against Iga Swiatek.
Sabalenka’s 2026 Madrid Open campaign highlights
Round 2: Sabalenka df. Peyton Stearns (7-5, 6-3)
Round 3: Sabalenka df. Jaqueline Cristian (6-1, 6-4)
Round 4: Sabalenka df. Naomi Osaka (6-7, 6-3, 6-2)
Quarter-final: Sabalenka lst. Hailey Baptiste (6-2, 2-6, 6-7)
