We're getting down to the wire at the Mutua Madrid Open, the first WTA 1000 tournament of the Clay-Court swing, and it hasn't been without drama.
Tons of comebacks, wild finishes and epic tiebreakers -- with more than a few upsets thrown into the mix.
As we work our way towards the final this weekend, here's everything you need to know about what went down on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz this past week.
Star of the Week
Hailey Baptiste
Hailey Baptiste is making a habit of deep runs at WTA 1000s. She reached the final eight at this level for the first time last month, in Miami, and has equaled that result in Madrid. More than just reaching the quarterfinals, though, has been the level of competition she's had to beat to get there. She had the benefit of a first-round bye -- it sure helps to be seeded -- and after routing Spanish wild card Kaitlin Quevedo, she upset Jasmine Paolini in straight sets on the Italian's favorite surface. The 24-year-old American followed that up with an upset of 11th seed Belinda Bencic, a gutsy win after losing a soul-crushing tiebreaker. (More on that below.)
At No. 32 in the world, Baptiste is at her career high in the rankings -- and climbing.
Breakthrough of the Week
Caty McNally
Unseeded Karolina Pliskova and Anastasia Potapova made the quarterfinals, but they've been to this stage before.
But one player who reached new heights in Madrid was 24-year-old American Caty McNally, who upset 10th-seeded Victoria Mboko in the second round. It was her first career Top 10 win -- her first Top 20 win, for that matter -- and it was the first time she had won back-to-back main-draw matches on clay in five years. She followed that up with a thrilling win over Katerina Siniakova in a third-set tiebreaker, after saving two match points, to reach the fourth round of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time.
Her run was ended by Marta Kostyuk on Monday.
Best Match of the Week
Mirra Andreeva d. Anna Bondar, Madrid fourth round
So, so, so many to choose from. But the one that had me the farthest off the edge of my seat was Mirra Andreeva's 5-7 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (5) win over Anna Bondar. Andreeva let a 5-1 lead slip away, as the Hungarian took four straight to level it at five. Both players then held serve to force the tiebreak.
The tiebreaker was equally as tense, as Andreeva took a 3-0 lead before Bondar tied it at 4-all. Andreeva ultimately pulled it out 7-5, shedding tears of relief, to reach the Madrid quarters for a third straight year. The match took just under three hours.
Wildest Match of the Week
Daria Snigur d. Daria Kasatkina, Madrid first round
If Andreeva-Bondar was the best match, Daria Snigur's win over Daria Kasatkina was the nuttiest.
In her first career WTA Tour main-draw match on clay -- she did win two qualifying matches at the start of the week -- Snigur saved four match points and converted her seventh to secure the improbable 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (13) win. Her first match point saved came trailing 6-5 in the third set, and then she saved three more in the back-and-forth 15-13 tiebreaker. It was the longest third-set tiebreaker on the WTA Tour in eight years.
As it turns out, it wouldn't even be the longest tiebreaker this week.
Tiebreak of the Week
Belinda Bencic d. Hailey Baptiste, 16-14
Five days later, Bencic and Baptiste outdid Snigur and Kasatkina, with the Swiss World No. 12 winning 16-14 to take the second set and level their fourth-round match.
Baptiste held six match points in that second set, one at 6-5 and then five more in the tiebreaker. She converted her seventh in the third set for the 6-1, 6-7 (14), 6-3 win.
Comeback of the Week
Linda Noskova d. Coco Gauff, Madrid fourth round
Linda Noskova started off strong against the World No. 3, taking the first set 6-4, but the two-time Grand Slam champion took 10 of the next 12 games to tie the match and take a commanding 4-1 lead in the third.
"I know the match is not over until it's over," the 21-year-old told reporters after the match. "...I just wanted to find my rhythm and my game all over again."
She was right ... and she found exactly what she was looking for down the stretch, forcing a third-set tiebreaker. Gauff quickly took a 3-0 lead, again putting Noskova in a deep hole, but the World No. 13 won seven of the last nine points to claim her first Top 10 win of 2026.
Shot of the Week
Aryna Sabalenka's one-handed backhand pass
We know the World No. 1 has added plenty of variety to her game, but come on ... this is just getting ridiculous now.
Doing her best Roger Federer impression, the three-time Madrid champion sprinted across the court and flipped a gorgeous one-handed backhand down the line, past Jaqueline Cristian. She immediately smiled and raised her first, later calling it "the shot of my life."
We're not sure about that, but it was certainly special -- and a reminder than she can win points from every angle and every position on the court.
Upset of the Week
Anastasia Potapova d. Elena Rybakina, Madrid fourth round
There were a flurry of upsets this past week, as evidenced by the fact that only two Top 10 seeds made it into the quarterfinals. We could have gone with Bondar's win over Elina Svitolina, McNally's win over Mboko or Ann Li's win over Iga Swiatek.
But the biggest surprise had to be Potapova's 7-6 (8), 6-4 win over World No. 2 Elena Rybakina. Potapova saved a set point in the first and rallied from a break down in the second, becoming the first lucky loser to reach the Madrid quarterfinals since the tournament's inception in 2009.
First of the Week
Tyra Caterina Grant is on the board
Welcome to the WTA, Tyra. After coming through qualifying, the World No. 262 picked up her first career WTA Tour main-draw win after handily beating Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 6-2. The 18-year-old Italian lost her second-round match to Sorana Cirstea.
Stat of the Week
Win No. 150
Sabalenka continues to move up the record books. This week's milestone: winning her 150th career WTA 1000 match after beating Naomi Osaka 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-2. She's only the sixth player ever to do so, and improved to 150-50 all-time at the 1000 level. The only player to win 150 matches in fewer attempts at WTA 1000s was Victoria Azarenka (199), by just one match.
Throwback Performance of the Week
Karolina Pliskova
Make it back-to-back quarterfinals for the former World No. 1, who also reached the last eight in Linz earlier this month. Pliskova, who upset Maria Sakkari and Elise Mertens this week, is into her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal in two years -- and her first quarterfinal on clay since 2021.