Hailey Baptiste stunned Emma Navarro in the Abu Dhabi Open round of 16, in three sets, saying she had to "grind and keep digging".

The wildcard had to steady the ship after a disappointing second set but ultimately triumphed 7-6 (8-6) 0-6 6-3 in just over two hours.

Baptiste broke the number four seed's serve in the first game before holding off three break points in the second, though Navarro levelled the scores shortly after.

After missing another chance to break, Baptiste came out on top in the tie-break after saving set point, though she then failed to win a single game in the second set.

However, Baptiste went toe-to-toe with Navarro in the decider and won the final three games in a row to clinch her spot in the final four.

"I just had to grind and keep digging and digging," Baptiste said in her on-court interview.

"Obviously, the second set was not great for me, but I'm really happy I was able to turn it around. I just left the court to reset.

"I didn't really tell myself much – I never really leave the court, so me doing that was enough to reset."

Coming up clutch

Hailey Baptiste digs deep to defeat fellow American, Navarro, in three sets#MubadalaAbuDhabiOpen pic.twitter.com/BUynWE7OUP

— wta (@WTA) February 3, 2026

Data Debrief: Baptiste on the up

Baptiste secured just the fourth top-20 win of her career by beating Navarro, securing a milestone result in the process.

She will now play in her first WTA 500 quarter-final, and her first appearance in the final eight of a tournament since Auckland last year.

Navarro, meanwhile, saw her three-match winning streak against Baptiste come to an end.