The 2026 Madrid Open in the WTA division is off to a strange start, as most of the Top 10 seeds are already eliminated. Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, and Jessica Pegula are among those who were on the wrong end of the latest Madrid Open 2026 results, and suddenly, the clay-court event is up for grabs, per the SBOTOP Madrid Open 2026 odds.
With sixth-seeded Amanda Anisimova not even in the tournament due to injuries, eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva is suddenly the highest-placed player remaining in the WTA 1000 event, and she’ll face one of the giant slayers of the tournament thus far.
Despite the shocking exit, Sabalenka remains at the top of the WTA rankings with a massive cushion of at least 1,500 points over second-seeded Rybakina. Perhaps her early ouster would give her (and the others) more time to recharge ahead of the highly anticipated French Open at the end of May.
Gauff runs out of gas against Noskova
After opening her Madrid Open campaign with back-to-back wins over Leolia Jeanjean and Sorana Cirstea, Coco Gauff lost to Linda Noskova during the Round of 16 last Monday, marking her second consecutive earlier-than-expected exit since reaching the Miami Open final last March.
Gauff dropped the opening set but took the second. In the end, the 22-year-old star ran out of gas, as Noskova won seven of the last nine points after going down 3-0 in the deciding tiebreak during the final set. This was Noskova’s first Top 10 victory of the campaign.
Gauff’s fitness certainly played a key role in her loss to Noskova. Before this, Gauff appeared out of sorts and threw up twice during her previous match against Cirstea last weekend. After dropping the first set, the American international called for a medical timeout in the second to get her vitals checked. She also took a pill, which helped ease her flu-like symptoms.
After the match, Gauff revealed she had a stomach virus and apologised to the fans who saw her vomit on a bucket during the said match. She hopes to recover in time for the Italian Open, as she will be defending 650 points as last year’s runner-up. Gauff will also be defending 2,000 points as the reigning Roland Garros champion in a few weeks from now.
Swiatek emotional after another early exit
Coco Gauff was not the only player affected by the stomach bug; Iga Swiatek also had it in Madrid, which played a key role in her Round of 32 exit against Ann Li last Saturday. The former champion did not look like her usual self throughout the match, though she did well to come back from a set down.
However, her condition worsened early in the third set after she went down a break. After having her vitals checked by the medical team, Swiatek made the difficult decision to withdraw from the match, marking only her third mid-match retirement of her career. She was reduced to tears after yet another early ouster, as Swiatek has yet to progress beyond the quarter-finals at any event this term. But despite leaving Madrid early, Swiatek will likely overtake Gauff at No. 3 in the WTA rankings, as the latter failed to reach at least the semi-finals.
Swiatek hasn’t been at her best this year, as she has yet to win a title and has endured a string of lacklustre results. After opening the season as World No. 2, she’s now battling to stay within the Top 4, and her form also led to a split with coach Wim Fissette.
Sabalenka stunned by Baptiste
Aryna Sabalenka was the latest victim of this year’s Madrid Open upset row, as the World No. 1 lost to Hailey Baptiste in the quarter-finals last night in two hours and 30 minutes. Baptiste is the first player to beat Sabalenka from match points down since Iga Swiatek did so in the 2024 Madrid Open final. The win also snapped Sabalenka’s 15-match winning streak and sent Baptiste to the semi-finals for the first time.
After winning the opening set, Sabalenka was broken in the second set after consecutive double faults. Baptiste used that opening to grow into the match, as moments later, she led 4-0 and held a break point for 5-0. Sabalenka tried to disrupt Baptiste’s momentum, but it failed. After saving her sixth match point, Baptiste won the next three points and converted her lone match point to complete the upset.
As noted, Mirra Andreeva is the highest-seeded player left in Madrid, and Baptiste will face her next in the semi-finals tomorrow.
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