Andreeva celebrates birthday with Madrid final spot after tiebreak thriller
Mirra Andreeva won against Hailey Baptiste 6-4, 7-6 (8) on Thursday. She’ll play the winner of the match between Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk, the No 26 seed, and Austrian Anastasia Potapova in the final
Mirra Andreeva, Madrid 2026 | © Madrid Trophy Promotion
A day after turning 19, Mirra Andreeva gave herself the only gift that mattered – a place in the Madrid final – by beating Hailey Baptiste, the No 30 seed, 6-4, 7-6 (8) on Thursday afternoon to reach the first WTA 1000 final of her career in the Spanish capital.
The match was tighter than the scoreline suggests. Andreeva controlled the first set before a dispute over an electronic line call at 2-2 in the second briefly tested her composure – she questioned the umpire with the same frustration Rybakina had shown earlier in the tournament, arguing that the mark and the screen did not match.
“I understand that you cannot overrule,” she told the chair. “But as players, what do we do? This is not close. For you just one point but for players sometimes it’s a lot.” She did not lose the thread. She won the set.
Baptiste pushed her all the way. The American, who had beaten Sabalenka two days earlier, saved a match point to force the tiebreak – and Andreeva, serving for the set, had to reset. She saved two set points with a lob and an ace before closing it out on her third match point with a backhand down the line. “I just told myself that if she is going to win the second set, she is going to have to do something extraordinary,” Andreeva said, “because I’m not going to just let her win those points.”
The win was her 12th on clay in 2026 – the most by any player on the WTA Tour this year – and made her the first teenager to reach three WTA 1000 finals since the format’s introduction in 2009. She will rise to No. 7 in the rankings regardless of Saturday’s result.
She faces the winner of the match between Marta Kostyuk, the No 26 seed, and Anastasia Potapova in the final.
