The surprise of the year in tennis! Aryna Sabalenka was eliminated in the quarters in Madrid after missing SIX match points
Article by Maria Olteanu – Published on Wednesday, 29 April 2026, 08:17 / Updated on Wednesday, 29 April 2026 08:17
Hailey Baptiste (24, world No. 32) saved no fewer than six match points on Tuesday night to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka (27) 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6) to advance to the semifinals of the 1,000-point tournament in Madrid. Sabalenka had won the title in the Spanish capital in 2021, 2023 and 2025.
The American, currently ranked 32nd in the world rankings, recorded the biggest victory of her career, producing the surprise of the year on the women's circuit, a totally unexpected result at the end of a sensational clash.
Sabalenka was riding a nine-match streak in Madrid and 15 in a row since the Australian Open before this match. This defeat will cost the Belarusian 785 points in the WTA ranking.
Aryna Sabalenka wasted 6 match points before being eliminated
Sabalenka missed a huge opportunity to close out the match in the tenth game of the third set. More precisely, he had no less than five match points on the opponent's service, but none of them were capitalized. On the other side of the field, Baptiste managed to save himself in an incredible way.
The American broke in the very next game and had the opportunity to serve for the win. However, at that moment, the Belarusian showed why she is the world number one, responded in kind and took the set to a tie-break.
Hailey Baptiste is in the semifinals in Madrid // photo: Getty Images
And there, Aryna was the first to reach a new match point at 6-5, but even that wasn't enough. The American once again managed to pull off a miracle and materialize her second match point, qualifying for the semi-final of the 1000-point tournament in the Spanish capital, where she will fight for a place in the grand final with Mirra Andreeva.
Sabalenka thus suffered her second defeat of the season and was left out of the fight to defend the trophy she won last year in Madrid.
How Sabalenka reacted after the failure in Madrid
It was a difficult match. She played very well, but I also played at a high level in many moments. I think we had some chances in the third set. I felt that maybe I was a bit rushed at some points in those moments. But that's okay, sometimes you have to learn, accept the negative aspects of the game and move on.
I think he played some excellent points. We had a few opportunities and didn't take advantage of them. I feel like she played really brave tennis in those moments on my match balls and that made the difference
In Miami I didn't give him many opportunities, he couldn't break my serve. Here, in the first game of the second set, I made two double faults out of nowhere and I felt that gave him confidence. Since then he started playing more aggressively. As I said, he played some brave tennis. What can I say, well done
– Aryna Sabalenka, after the failure in Madrid
VIDEO with the summary of the game that Sabalenka lost in Madrid
