Hailey Baptiste, of the United States, celebrates a point during her match against Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Hailey Baptiste, of the United States, returns the ball to Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Hailey Baptiste, of the United States, reaches for a shot against Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus returns the ball to Hailey Baptiste of the U.S. during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, returns the ball to Hailey Baptiste, of the United States, during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)1 / 5Spain Madrid Open TennisHailey Baptiste, of the United States, celebrates a point during her match against Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)1 / 5Spain Madrid Open TennisHailey Baptiste, of the United States, celebrates a point during her match against Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, at the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)2 / 5Spain Madrid Open TennisHailey Baptiste, of the United States, returns the ball to Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)3 / 5Spain Madrid Open TennisHailey Baptiste, of the United States, reaches for a shot against Aryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)4 / 5Spain Tennis Madrid OpenAryna Sabalenka of Belarus returns the ball to Hailey Baptiste of the U.S. during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)5 / 5Spain Madrid Open TennisAryna Sabalenka, of Belarus, returns the ball to Hailey Baptiste, of the United States, during the Madrid Open tennis tournament in Madrid, Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez) (ASSOCIATED PRESS)TALES AZZONITue, April 28, 2026 at 10:12 PM UTC·1 min readMADRID (AP) — American Hailey Baptiste earned the biggest win of her career by saving six match points and beating world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka at the Madrid Open on Tuesday.
The 32nd-ranked Baptiste rallied to a 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) victory — her first over a top 5 opponent. She will play in a WTA 1000 semifinal for the first time.
The result ended a 15-match winning streak for Sabalenka, who was the defending champion in Madrid.
The 24-year-old Baptiste is the first player to beat Sabalenka from match points down since Iga Swiatek did it in the 2024 final in Madrid.
“It was a tough match. She played great,” Sabalenka said. “I played great. I think I had some opportunities in the third set. I felt like I was maybe a little bit rushing the point over there. But it’s OK, sometimes I guess you have to learn, take the bad stuff from this week and move on.”
Baptiste will face No. 8 Mirra Andreeva, who advanced to her first Madrid semifinal with a straight-set win over Leylah Fernandez.