Aryna Sabalenka suffered just her second defeat of the 2026 WTA season on Tuesday evening.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was beaten by world number 32 Hailey Baptiste, who took their Madrid Open quarter-final 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 after two-and-a-half hours of play.
Baptiste’s win not only snapped Sabalenka’s 15-match winning run but also made her the first American since Serena Williams in 2013 to beat the world number one at the Caja Magica.
Sabalenka will now look ahead to the Italian Open as she tries to put this loss behind her. And she refused to use any excuses for her performance after the match: “I would say it wasn’t my best performance today,” Sabalenka said. “But there are no excuses, I tried my best.”
Aryna Sabalenka responds to Madrid Open exit with message on social media
Sabalenka shared her initial thoughts not long after leaving Manolo Santana Stadium, posting a short message on Instagram.
“Not the ending I wanted,” she wrote. “But proud of the work I put in. “We’re just getting started with clay season. Thank you.”
The loss means Sabalenka will drop 785 ranking points, bringing her total to 10,110. That still keeps her 1,555 points ahead of world number two Elena Rybakina.
Sabalenka has a chance to earn those points back at next month’s Italian Open.
She reached the quarter-finals there last year before losing to Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng.
After Rome, she heads to Paris for Roland Garros, where she’s defending 1,300 points from last year’s run to the final.