Hailey Baptiste (USA) practices before a match against Aryna Sabalenka at the Miami Open on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Alie Skowronski
askowronski@miamiherald.com
Ten years ago, a loving mother in Washington, D.C. created a GoFundMe page seeking financial aid as her young daughter was rising in the junior tennis ranks, which meant costs for coaching and travel were escalating, as well.
“My name is Shari, I am a traveling tennis mom of my 15-year old-daughter — Hailey Baptiste. Her dad, Quasim Baptiste, and I had no idea what road we were headed down once Hailey started playing tennis; after 11 years, this is just the beginning.”
She went on to explain that Baptiste started playing tennis at 4 and fell in love with the game at an after-school program. “Most of the kids that play tennis on this level are wealthy, this is not our family. We’ve managed to handle the travel & tournament schedule required for Hailey, until now.”
The Go Fund Me page goal was $25,000. They raised $6,739.
Fast-forward a decade to the Miami Open, where Baptiste, now 24 years old and the world’s No. 45-ranked player, was on Stadium Court for an evening quarterfinal match against top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka. Although she lost 6-4, 6-4, she battled for an hour, 20 minutes and proved she belonged.
“I learned that no matter who I play, most matches are on my racket, and it’s more about me than my opponent,” Baptiste said. “I felt like if I had played a little bit better in some moments, then I could have won that match. When she got the opportunities in my service games, she took them and went after them, and that’s why she’s where she is.”
Baptiste is one of the rising stars of U.S. tennis and has earned $2.9 million in prize money since turning pro at age 16.
Early this year, after 10 months working with Miami-based coach Eric Hechtman, the tennis director at Royal Palm Tennis Club in Pinecrest, she reached the third round of the Australian Open, the semifinals at Abu Dhabi and a career-high ranking of No. 39.
Hechtman, a former Miami Sunset High state champion and captain of the University of Miami tennis team, includes Serena Williams and Venus Williams among his former students. He and Baptiste parted ways in early February. She is now being coached by William Woodall.
This is her sixth appearance at the Miami Open and before this year, her best result was third round, last year, when she lost to Naomi Osaka. This is her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal and her first meeting with a reigning World No. 1.
“The moment [stepping on Stadium Court Wednesday] was great, my first quarterfinals, against the world number one, amazing atmosphere, big tournament,” Baptiste said. “Regardless how the match went, I still had a great time playing out there and hope to be in many more moments like that.”
Baptiste says her recent success has come, in part, from a greater belief in herself. That has been especially true at clutch moments in matches.
“I feel like I’ve been able to just control my nerves a bit better the last year or so,” she said at the Australian Open in January. “Obviously having the results gives you the belief that you can continue to do it again and again.
“I mean, obviously my goals change now. I’ve gotten to the second week of a Slam, so now I’m trying to just push beyond that every time I get into these events. You know, try to go deeper and deeper each time.”
The 5-5 Baptiste is known for her variety of shots. She said that comes from growing up playing with boys.
“Tennis has always been somewhere where, like, I’m expressing myself, and so coaches sometimes don’t agree with the way that I play, or my shot selection, but I kind of just have the mind-set of doing what I want on the court, like hitting the shots that I want even if it’s a crazy shot or it makes zero sense,” she said. “Sometimes that’s what I want to do, and I do it.”
She worked on getting quicker and strengthening her serve during 2025.
“Just trying to get fitter and clean up whatever I needed to clean up, things that I didn’t do as well throughout [2025] or that I could improve on, making my strengths stronger and trying to cut out some of the weaknesses that I have,” she said at the start of this year.
“One goal is for me to try to get quicker. Just be a little bit more solid overall. Like, less unforced errors and try to make my serve more of a weapon. It’s always been a weapon, but obviously try to develop it into even more of a weapon.”
Baptiste got involved with tennis through the Washington Tennis and Education Foundation. The WTEF offers tennis instruction, academic programs and wellness courses to children whose family might not be able to afford private clubs.
She stood out, moved to the William Fitzgerald Tennis Center at Rock Creek Park and then to the U.S. Tennis Association’s regional training Junior Tennis Champions Center at the University of Maryland in College Park.
That is where she became friends with U.S. star Frances Tiafoe, the child of Sierra Leonean immigrants who got his start at the center where his father worked as as head of maintenance. Tiafoe has been one of Baptiste’s biggest fans and congratulates her often on social media.
When at age 17 she beat U.S. Open finalist Madison Keys for her first big victory at the City Open in D.C., Tiafoe let his fans know that she was someone they should follow.
He, too, is in the Miami Open quarterfinals. It is believed to be the first time two players from Washington, D.C., made it to the quarters.
“Hell, yeah,” Tiafoe said Tuesday night, when asked what it has been like to go through the Miami draw with Baptiste. “Let’s make it two semis, why not?”
In the earlier women’s quarterfinal on Wednesday, No. 3 seed Elena Rybakina beat No. 5 Jessica Pegula of Boca Raton 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. Rybakina is a two-time Miami Open runner-up in 2023 and 2024. Rybakina will face Sabalenka in the semifinals on Thursday night.
“It’s always very difficult matches with Jessica,” Rybakina said in her on-court interview. “She started playing well, and I was a bit rushing and frustrated, but I’m happy that I managed to bounce back and turn it around in the second set. Then we were just fighting, and the early break helped me a little bit.
“Couple times I got lucky. I was trying to come a little bit more to the net — Jessica plays very fast and sometimes short, so it was not easy to just stay back I had to adapt a little bit.”
Elena Rybakina (KAZ) returns the ball to Jessica Pegula (USA) during the women’s singles quarterfinal at the Miami Open on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Rybakina beat Pegula and advanced. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
Sabalenka said she is looking forward to playing Rybakina, an opponent she knows well, and says their contrast in personalities is good for the sport.
“We’re opposites, and I think that’s so beautiful because when people are watching us, and we’re both super high-level players, and anyone can relate and feel like, `Oh, I can make it because there is someone like me who is emotional and loud, and then there is someone like Elena [who is more reserved],” Sabalenka said.
There is little doubt who Brazilian fans will be rooting for. Sabalenka, who is from Belarus and has a home in Miami, was recently engaged to Brazilian businessman Georgios Frangulis, founder of the acai brand Oakberry. During her match against Baptiste, Brazilian fans cheered her loudly and she thanked them after with “obrigado”.
Jiri Lehecka (CZE) celebrates winning the men’s singles quarterfinal at the Miami Open against Martin Landaluce (ESP) on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Lehecka beat Landaluce in the match and advanced. Alie Skowronski askowronski@miamiherald.com
In the men’s quarterfinals, Jiri Lehecka of Czech Republic beat Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce 7-6 (7-1), 7-5.
In women’s doubles, the Italian top-seeded team of Sara Errani and Jasmine Paolini beat American Asia Muhammad and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand 6-3, 6-1. In men’s doubles, French team Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul beat Marcelo Aravalo (El Salvador) and Mate Pavic (Croatia) 6-4, 6-4; American Austin Krajicek and Nikola Mektic (Croatia) beat Brazilians Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos 7-5, 6-4.
The men’s quarterfinals featured Jiri Lehecka facing 20-year-old qualifier Martin Landaluce during the day session and American Tommy Paul taking on 21-year-old Arthur Fils to close the evening.
This story was originally published March 25, 2026 at 5:18 PM.