History for Karolina: Pliskova clinches quarter-final spot and a Madrid Open record

Karolina Pliskova reached the quarter-finals of the Madrid Open on Monday with a straight-sets victory over Solana Sierra, marking her first WTA 1000 quarter-final appearance in over two years. The former world number one, who peaked in 2017, had suffered a serious left ankle injury at the 2024 US Open that required two surgeries and dropped her outside the top 100. She returned to competition in late 2025 and is now just two wins away from her first WTA final in years.