Elena Rybakina stunned at Madrid Open as Anastasia Potapova dents No 1 chase

The world No 2 was upset 7-6(8), 6-4 by 56th-ranked Anastasia Potapova on Monday night in the fourth round in Madrid.

Rybakina served for the opening set at 5-4 and had a set point in a pulsating tiebreak before Potapova converted her third set point.

The two-time Grand Slam champion then led 4-2 in the second set, but Potapova won the next four games to seal a stunning triumph.

Potapova is competing as a lucky loser in Madrid, having lost to fellow Austrian Sinja Kraus in the final round of qualifying. The 25-year-old defeated Jelena Ostapenko and Zhang Shuai prior to her win over Rybakina.

"I got my second chance during this tournament, and I think I'm using it pretty (well). I'm just enjoying being here," Potapova said in her on-court interview.

"She's number two. She's one of the best right now. Of course I'm feeling grateful for this win, but I don't want to stop. I want to keep improving and maybe get closer to these girls in the meantime."

Rybakina began the Madrid Open on 8,500 points in second position - 2,395 points adrift of Sabalenka in top spot.

By reaching the last 16, Rybakina has improved her points total by 55 points to 8,555 as she bettered her third round result at the 2025 Madrid Open.

The 26-year-old Kazakh has, however, missed the opportunity to significantly close the gap to Sabalenka.

Sabalenka is the reigning champion in Madrid, which means she was defending 1,000 ranking points and was on 9,895 points in the Live WTA Rankings prior to the start of her campaign.

The 27-year-old Belarusian has collected 215 points by reaching the quarter-finals at Caja Magica, which has taken her points tally to 10,110 prior to her last eight match against Hailey Baptiste.

This puts Sabalenka 1,555 points ahead of Rybakina in the Live WTA Rankings.

Sabalenka is a firm favourite to defend her title as she is one of just two top 10 players in the quarter-final line-up along with world No 8 Mirra Andreeva.

If Sabalenka does secure her fourth Madrid Open crown, she will return to 10,895 points and be 2,340 points clear of Rybakina.

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