Hailey Baptiste kept her Madrid Open run rolling on Tuesday, beating Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-3 in the third round to reach the Round of 16 at the WTA event. The win gave Baptiste her second Top 10 victory of 2026 and set up a meeting with Belinda Bencic.
Baptiste has been one of the feel-good stories of the tournament, and the result fit the shape of her season so far. She has spoken openly about clay being her favorite surface, saying she enjoys the sliding movement it demands, and that comfort has shown in Madrid, where her big serve has helped her control points and pressure opponents into mistakes.
The match itself was tight early before Baptiste found a cleaner edge in the key moments. More than raw power, the difference has been her ability to build points instead of trying to blast through them, a shift that has made her harder to read on a fast-playing clay court that often rewards quick decisions and sharp movement.
Bencic, meanwhile, reached the same stage by surviving a far messier path. She beat Diana Shnaider after squandering a 4-0 second-set lead and needing a tiebreak, a reminder that the bottom half of the draw is already punishing even the most established names. Karolina Pliskova also moved through with a win over Elise Mertens, while Anastasija Sevastova came back from a set down against both Varvara Gracheva and Sonmez to stay alive in the event.
The rest of the round has the same unsettled feel. Elena Rybakina was 5-0 on clay in 2026 after winning the Stuttgart title by beating Karolina Muchova, Anastasia Potapova advanced after a comeback over Jelena Ostapenko, Coco Gauff beat Sorana Cirstea in three sets on Sunday, and Linda Noskova moved on after Liudmila Samsonova withdrew. Baptiste’s win does not just add another name to the bracket. It keeps alive one of the tournament’s sharpest underdog runs, and it leaves Madrid with a legitimate chance to turn a breakout into something bigger against Bencic.
