Aryna Sabalenka suffered only her second loss of the 2026 WTA season on Tuesday evening.
Hailey Baptiste, the world number 32, stunned the four-time Grand Slam champion in the Madrid Open quarter-finals, winning 2-6 6-2 7-6 in a little over two and a half hours.
By winning on Tuesday, Baptiste ended Sabalenka’s 15-match winning streak on the WTA Tour.
Sabalenka is OUT in Madrid! How would you rate the Belarusian’s performance out of 10? 🤔
Baptiste also emulated Serena Williams, becoming the first American since 2013 to defeat the world number one at the Caja Magica.
It was a disappointing evening for Sabalenka, who will now turn her attention towards the Italian Open.
Aryna Sabalenka reacts to her Madrid Open loss on social media
Sabalenka wasted little time offering her thoughts on the contest, posting a brief message on Instagram shortly after exiting the Manolo Santana Stadium.
“Not the ending I wanted,” Sabalenka said in an Instagram post. “But proud of the work I put in.
“We’re just getting started with clay season. Thank you.”
After failing to defend her title in Madrid, Sabalenka is set to lose 785 WTA ranking points.
This will bring her total down to 10,110 – 1,555 points ahead of world number two Elena Rybakina.
The last five Madrid Open champions
- 2025: Aryna Sabalenka
- 2024: Iga Swiatek
- 2023: Aryna Sabalenka
- 2022: Ons Jabeur
- 2021: Aryna Sabalenka
Sabalenka will have the opportunity to reclaim those 785 points when she competes in the Italian Open next month.
The Belarusian reached the quarter-finals of last year’s event, losing to Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng.
Following the Italian Open, Sabalenka will travel to Paris for Roland Garros, where she is defending 1,300 points after reaching last year’s final.
How many Grand Slams will Aryna Sabalenka win this year?
She looks unstoppable right now!
The highest remaining seed in Madrid
Mirra Andreeva, the ninth seed, is now the highest-ranked player left in the Madrid Open draw.
The Russian, still only 18 years old, will play Hailey Baptiste for a place in the Madrid Open final when they step onto court to face each other on Thursday.
In the bottom half of the draw, the semi-finals are yet to be confirmed. Karolina Pliskova will play Anastasia Potapova in the quarter-finals, while Marta Kostyuk will face off against Linda Noskova.
Madrid Open semi-finals
- Hailey Baptiste vs Mirra Andreeva
- Linda Noskova / Marta Kostyuk vs Karolina Pliskova / Anastasia Potapova
Of the remaining players, only two have won WTA 1000 titles.
Andreeva won two WTA 1000 titles in 2025: the Dubai Tennis Championships and Indian Wells.
Karolina Pliskova, the former world number one, won the 2016 Cincinnati Open and 2019 Italian Open.
