MADRID, April 28. /TASS/. Russia’s top female tennis player Mirra Andreeva defeated Hailey Baptiste of the United States in the semifinals round of the 2026 WTA Madrid Open tennis tournament on Thursday.

The 9th-seeded Andreeva, who is playing under a neutral status at the tournament, outplayed her 30th-seeded opponent Baptiste in straight sets 6-4; 7-6 (10-8). The Russian player is now set to play in the final against the winner of the other semifinals match between Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk (26th-seed) and Anastasia Potapova from Austria.

"I feel so much adrenaline inside," the tournament’s official website quoted Andreeva as saying after the match. "I feel like I'm still nervous. I'm so happy that I won and I was able to save all those set points."

"I was very happy with the way I was able to serve. I cannot find a lot of words to describe how I am feeling right now," the Russian player added.

Andreeva, 19, is a five-time WTA champion and is currently the 8th-ranked player in the world. Her best finish at Grand Slams was at the 2024 French Open when she reached the semifinals. In 2023, the WTA named Andreeva the rookie of the year. Playing at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, she won a silver medal in women’s doubles paired with Diana Shnaider.

The 2026 Madrid Open is a WTA 1,000 tournament played on clay-courts at the Park Manzanares in the Spanish capital between April 22 and May 4. This year’s tournament offers over $8.2 million in prize money. World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus is the tournament’s reigning champion.

Russian and Belarusian players’ neutral status at tennis tournaments

On February 28, 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) issued recommendations to international sports federations to bar athletes from Russia and Belarus from taking part in international tournaments, citing Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine as the reason.

Following the IOC's recommendations in late February 2022, the majority of global sports federations moved to exclude athletes from Russia and Belarus from all international sports tournaments.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) ruled on March 1, 2022, to suspend the membership of the Russian and Belarusian national tennis federations while also canceling all previously scheduled tennis tournaments in the two countries.

On March 14, 2022, the ITF also confirmed its prohibition on the Russian and Belarusian national tennis teams from participating in the 2022 Davis Cup and the 2022 Billie Jean King Cup.