hot shots

Vote: What was the best shot of the week in Madrid?

Author: Brad Kallet
hot shots
3m read 01 May 2026 3h ago
Mirra Andreeva, Madrid 2026

Summary

We've rounded up the five best shots from the second week of the Mutua Madrid Open. Which do you think was the best? Check them out and vote for your pick at the bottom.

highlights

Andreeva fends off Baptiste challenge to reach Madrid final

05:40
mirra andreeva madrid 2026

We're down to the final two at the Mutua Madrid Open.

Mirra Andreeva, in her third career WTA 1000 final, is set to face Marta Kostyuk, who's two sets from the biggest title of her career.

As the first WTA 1000 tournament of the Clay-Court swing nears the finish line, we've combed through all 14 matches from this past week and selected the five most incredible shots.

Which do you think was the best? Check them out below, and make sure to vote for your WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz shot of the week at the bottom.

Mirra Andreeva's lob winner on set point

Facing double set point in the second-set tiebreak against Hailey Baptiste, Andreeva countered the American's heavy groundstrokes to stay alive in the point (and the set) before drawing her into the net. From well behind the baseline, the 19-year-old hit a backhand lob that sailed perfectly over Baptiste's head, right in front of the line.

Andreeva would go on to save another set point, and then a third, to win the match 6-4, 7-6 (8).

Hot shot: Mirra Andreeva lands ‘majestic’ lob to save set point in Madrid

Hailey Baptiste's serve and volley on match point

Prior to losing to Andreeva, Baptiste stunned World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in one of the best matches of the season. It was also one of the biggest upsets of 2026.

In one of the gutsiest performances we've seen all year, Baptiste saved six match points -- five at 5-4 in the deciding third set, and then another in the ensuing tiebreaker.

All the match points saved were impressive, but one that really stood out was the third, when Baptiste busted out the serve and volley to bring it back to deuce. 

Check it out at the 0:23 mark below.

Relive Baptiste's 6 saved match points and tiebreak in Sabalenka upset

Anastasia Potapova's backhand winner down the line

If Baptiste's win over Sabalenka was the upset of the week, Anastasia Potapova's defeat of Elena Rybakina was a pretty close second.

Potapova was on point throughout the 7-6 (8), 6-4 win, as evidenced by points like these.

'It's just reflexes': Potapova finds right shots at right times to oust Rybakina

And she was so, so clutch. On her third set point, at 9-8 in the first-set tiebreaker, Potapova showed off her elite racquet control and precision with a backhand winner down the line, past Rybakina's outstretched racquet. 

Check it out at the 0:33 mark.

Aryna Sabalenka's running one-handed backhand pass

OK, so this one was technically from last week, but it was from Saturday and wasn't included in last week's poll, so we're considering it fair game.

In truth, it's just another excuse for us to share this unbelievable shot.

On Jaqueline Cristian's fourth break point, she moved the World No. 1 from side to side, giving Cristian time to come to the net and hit an angled volley deep into the corner.

Sabalenka sprinted from one doubles alley to the other, and just before the ball bounced a second time, she hit a one-handed backhand passing shot right down the line. 

She called it the "shot of my life" in her post-match interview.

We're not sure about that, but it's gotta be in the conversation.

'The shot of my life!' Sabalenka channels Federer with one-handed backhand pass

Linda Noskova's backhand winner down the line

Pushed into the corner by Coco Gauff, Linda Noskova slid into the doubles alley and went full extension to hit a backhand winner right down the line. 

Noskova upset Gauff 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (5).

 

Summary

We've rounded up the five best shots from the second week of the Mutua Madrid Open. Which do you think was the best? Check them out and vote for your pick at the bottom.

highlights

Andreeva fends off Baptiste challenge to reach Madrid final

05:40
mirra andreeva madrid 2026