Hailey Baptiste is not the leading name on the WTA Tour, but she has the determination required to become one. At just 24 years old, Baptiste has a long career ahead of her, and if she gets her rankings up, she can easily become a regular main-draw competitor at major tournaments.
Following her massive win against an in-form Elina Svitolina at the 2026 Miami Open, Baptiste shared her thoughts on the victory, highlighting her championship mentality.
How Hailey Baptiste Pulled Off Her 2026 Miami Open Upset Over Elina Svitolina
Baptiste faced German star Tatjana Maria in the first-round match at Hard Rock Stadium and secured a 7-5, 6-2 win to advance to the next round. She then upset No. 19 seed Liudmila Samsonova with a 6-3, 7-5 win and reached the third round, where she was set to face the in-form Svitolina.
The Ukrainian star entered the matchup as the clear favorite following her dominant performances this year. However, she couldn’t gain any momentum as the match began and lost 3-6, 5-7 to Baptiste in straight sets, giving the American a top-10 win.
After the match, Baptiste reflected on her performance, saying, “I had trust in my hands. I knew I wanted to take it. I didn’t want to wait for her to miss or anything, so I did the most aggressive thing possible. This [win] is huge.”
These words show that, despite not yet leaving a mark on the WTA Tour, Baptiste has what it takes to be a major star. It took Baptiste just under 100 minutes to defeat Svitolina, who won the ASB Classic title to kick off the 2026 season and delivered deep runs in Melbourne, Dubai, and Indian Wells.
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Svitolina struggled on serve, landing fewer than 50% of her first serves and winning about 57% of those points, while winning just 46% of her second-serve points. She committed 3 double faults and hit just one ace, whereas Baptiste turned the match in her favor with 2 aces and impressive serving.
Baptiste broke Svitolina once to take the first set 6-3. The second set was highly competitive, with Baptiste serving for the match at 5-4. However, Svitolina saved a match point, breaking her opponent and keeping the match alive.
But Svitolina was unable to close out the match, as Baptiste immediately broke back and served out the match 6-3, 7-5.
Tracking Baptiste’s Success During the 2026 Hard-Court Swing
Baptiste had a disappointing start to the season, suffering two consecutive first-round exits at the Brisbane International and the Hobart International. However, she bounced back to deliver a third-round finish at the Australian Open, losing to fellow American Coco Gauff in three sets.
She then entered the Abu Dhabi Open, a WTA 500 event, and stunned her opponents to reach the semifinals, where she lost to the second seed, Ekaterina Alexandrova. After skipping the WTA 1000 event in Doha, Qatar, Baptiste arrived in Dubai, where she started in qualifying but reached the main draw, only to retire in the second set of the first round against Filipina sensation Alexandra Eala due to an abdominal injury.
After defeating Emiliana Arango in three sets, Baptiste faced the newly crowned World No. 2, Elena Rybakina, in the second round, losing in an intense three-set battle. She has now reached the fourth round in Miami and will be facing 2017 Roland Garros champion Jeļena Ostapenko.
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Ostapenko has a much higher chance of advancing to the next round, with PFSN’s exclusive interactive simulator predicting around a 60% chance, but Baptiste’s momentum cannot be overlooked.
It will be interesting to see whether the American delivers another upset against a seeded player or whether the Latvian star prevails, keeping her title hopes alive.
