The Mutua Madrid Open is searching for its women\u2019s semi-finalists. The quarter-finals in the Caja Magica begin on Tuesday and will be wrapped up by the close of play tomorrow, on Wednesday. It has all the ingredients to be a classic round; world number one and defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka; the established precocious talent of Mirra Andreeva; the renewed momentum of Leylah Fernandez; the breakthrough of Hailey Baptiste; the excellent form of Marta Kostyuk and Linda Noskova; and the unexpected stories of Karolina Pliskova and Anastasia Potapova. Eight players, four tickets, and several intertwining narratives at the stage of the tournament where every detail begins to count double.<\/p>\n
Leylah Fernandez-Mirra Andreeva (Second match, Manolo Santana Stadium)<\/p>\n
Leylah Fernandez and Mirra Andreeva will square off for a spot in the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open with their head-to-head tied at one win apiece. Their most recent meeting came in Hong Kong in 2023, where the Canadian prevailed 3-6, 6-1, 6-3.<\/p>\n
Fernandez has found the spark she needed on clay after a tricky start to the season that included early exits in the Australian Open, Doha and Indian Wells. The Canadian recently reached the quarter-finals in Stuttgart and has now repeated that feat in Madrid, where she is enjoying her best performance. In the Caja Magica she has handled the pressure well, with two straight-set wins and a comeback against fifteenth seed, Iva Jovic.<\/p>\n
Andreeva, for her part, is back in the Madrid quarter-finals for the third consecutive year. The world number eight just survived a scare against Anna Bondar, whom she eventually defeated 6-7(5), 6-3, 7-6(5) in nearly three hours, despite letting slip a 5-1 lead in the deciding set.<\/p>\n
Andreeva, already a semi-finalist in Stuttgart and champion this year in Linz, has continued her consistency on clay. She is aiming to reaffirm her love affair with Madrid. Meanwhile, Fernandez is bidding for her first semi-final since Hong Kong at the end of last season.<\/p>\n
Aryna Sabalenka-Hailey Baptiste (First match of the night session, Manolo Santana Stadium)<\/p>\n
Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one and defending champion, will play her quarter-final at the Mutua Madrid Open against Hailey Baptiste, one of the tournament\u2019s surprise packages. The world number one is on a roll; her 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Naomi Osaka brought her winning streak in WTA 1000 tournaments to 15, equalling the best run of her career in the category. Champion this year in Indian Wells and Miami, Sabalenka is now back in Madrid, where she has already lifted the trophy three times.<\/p>\n
Baptiste, ranked 32 in the world, will be playing her second consecutive WTA 1000 quarter-final after reaching the round in Miami as well. It was there she had her first clash with Sabalenka, who won 6-4, 6-4, before going on to win the title. The American just produced a remarkable win over Belinda Bencic, in a match where she lost the season\u2019s longest tiebreak, 16-14, before prevailing in three sets.<\/p>\n
In Madrid, the scenario is different; they will play on clay and her opponent is the reigning champion. Baptiste insists she believes in her chances, but on the other side of the net awaits Sabalenka, who is in her element in the Caja Magica.<\/p>\n
Marta Kostyuk-Linda Noskova (Wednesday)<\/p>\n
Marta Kostyuk and Linda Noskova will battle it out on Wednesday for a spot in the semi-finals of the Mutua Madrid Open, in a generational clash between two players destined to remain among the elite for a long time. The Ukrainian, aged 23, arrives in fine fettle; she has won nine consecutive matches on clay and is yet to drop a set in the Caja Magica.<\/p>\n
Noskova, aged 21 and ranked 13 in the world, has reached her first Madrid quarter-final having secured one of the tournament\u2019s standout wins against Coco Gauff, third seed and 2025 finalist. The Czech overturned a 4-1 deficit in the third set and was 4-2 down in the deciding tiebreak before claiming her first victory over the American and her maiden win against a Top 10 player in 2026.<\/p>\n
The match will mark the beginning of a new chapter for both women in Madrid. Neither has reached the tournament\u2019s semi-finals before, and both come into the clash with strong credentials; Kostyuk, for her consistency and solidity during this clay swing; Noskova, for her progression, already a WTA 1000 finalist in Beijing and a semi-finalist this year in Indian Wells. The Caja Magica will provide a stern test for two players riding a wave of confidence.<\/p>\n
Karolina Pliskova-Anastasia Potapova (Wednesday)<\/p>\n
Karolina Pliskova and Anastasia Potapova are set to meet on Wednesday for an unexpected place in the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals. A former world number one in the midst of a comeback faces a lucky loser who is making the most of her second chance in the tournament.<\/p>\n
Pliskova arrived in Madrid ranked 197th\u00a0in the world, an unusual position for a player with 17 WTA titles, two WTA 1000 trophies and Grand Slam finals appearances under her belt. After a prolonged ordeal with ankle, back and arm injuries, the Czech is back competing and no longer contemplating retirement. In Madrid, she has strung together wins over Sinja Kraus, Maria Sakkari, Elise Mertens and Solana Sierra to reach her first WTA 1000 quarter-final since 2024.<\/p>\n
For her part, Potapova pulled off one of the tournament\u2019s biggest upsets by defeating world number two Elena Rybakina 7-6(8), 6-4 on Monday. The Austrian saved a set point in the first and came back from a break down in the second to claim her fourth victory against a Top 5 player.<\/p>\n
History favours Pliskova, who won their only previous meeting in Doha in 2024. However, in Madrid things are different; the Czech is rediscovering her passion for tennis, and Potapova has become the first lucky loser to reach the Mutua Madrid Open quarter-finals. Now, the Austrian is vying to write another chapter in one of the stories of the tournament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Mutua Madrid Open is searching for its women\u2019s semi-finalists. The quarter-finals in the Caja Magica begin on Tuesday and will be wrapped up by the close of play tomorrow, on Wednesday. It has all the ingredients to be a classic round; world number one and defending champion, Aryna Sabalenka; the established precocious talent of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":108384,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"mc4wp_mailchimp_campaign":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[837,843],"tags":[899,1012,1201,1000],"class_list":["post-108461","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-noticias-tenis-en","category-noticias-tenis-femenino-en","tag-aryna-sabalenka-en-2","tag-leylah-fernandez","tag-marta-kostyuk","tag-mirra-andreeva"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108461","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=108461"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":108462,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/108461\/revisions\/108462"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/108384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=108461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=108461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mutuamadridopen.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=108461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}