How Hailey Baptiste Shocked Aryna Sabalenka in the Madrid Open

Hailey Baptiste is enjoying the best tournament of her career at the 2026 Madrid Open. The 30th-seeded Baptiste has systematically taken down No. 8 Jasmine Paolini, No. 11 Belinda Bencic, and now No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

On Tuesday night, Baptiste defeated Sabalenka in a hard-fought, three-set quarterfinal match: 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (6). Baptiste saved six match points during the 2-hour and 30-minute showdown.

Right now, the 24-year-old has the hottest hand in tennis. So, how did she pull off yet another stunning upset? Below is a breakdown of what Baptiste and Sabalenka said after the match.

What Hailey Baptiste Said After Win

Baptiste admitted at the beginning of her press conference that she benefited from just playing Sabalenka last month in Miami. "I had a better idea of how to play her and how I should play adjustments I needed to make... I think that I just went in trying to play my game, still doing the same things that I've been doing, but I had a few adjustments I needed to make from the last time we played."

As for her match points saved, Baptiste said, "I mean, just to play one more point, make one more ball, and make sure that I'm making her earn that point. If she was going to win, she was going to have to earn it. And I knew that she obviously was feeling a little nervous, too. She made a few unforced errors, which is normal, and so I just wanted to make sure that I was very solid and just really had the mindset of making her earn those points."

When asked about her game plan, Baptiste said with a laugh, "The plan kind of comes to my head when I get to the line sometimes, and that was what my brain was telling me to do, and so that's what I did, and it worked. Doesn't always work, but in that moment, it did. So I was really happy. I think it was an uncomfortable situation for her, me serving, volleying, and hitting drop shots. I think maybe one of the match point ones I did. It's not the easiest position to put her in, which was kind of the plan."

What Aryna Sabalenka Said After Loss

Sabalenka arrived at her ultra-quick press conference with her dog in hand. "Yeah, it was a tough match," Sabalenka admitted. "She play great. I play great. I think I had some opportunities in the third set, and I felt like I was maybe a little bit rushing the um the the point uh over there, but it's okay, sometimes I guess you have to learn to take the best from this week and move on."

Sabalenka added, "I think she played great points. I mean, I had some opportunities, didn't use them, and she played really brave tennis on those match points."

Sabalenka explained the difference between today's match and her victory against Baptiste in Miami, "I feel like in Miami I didn't give her much opportunities. She couldn't break my serve, I believe. And here, like the first game, second set, I just double-faulted twice out of nowhere, and I felt like that gave her belief, and after that, she just started playing more aggressively. She was playing brave tennis. What can I say? Well done."

The 2026 Mutua Madrid Open runs through May 3, and the clay court season continues through June. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's Serve On SI for all of your tennis news from the court and beyond.

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