History-making lucky loser Potapova into Madrid semis

Anastasia Potapova, a 25-year-old Russian-born Austrian player, became the first lucky loser in history to reach a WTA 1000 semi-final at the Madrid Open on April 29, 2026. She defeated former world number one Karolina Pliskova 6-1, 6-7 (7-4), 6-3 in the quarter-finals to advance to the last four. Potapova had originally lost in qualifying but entered the main draw as a lucky loser, also defeating world number two Elena Rybakina and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko along the way.