Moyuka Uchijima’s Stunning Run to the Madrid Quarterfinals

At just 23 years old, Moyuka Uchijima has delivered the standout performance of the Mutua Madrid Open this year. Ranked No. 56 and starting the tournament with a season record of 13 wins and 12 losses, the Japanese rising star overcame World No. 22 Ekaterina Alexandrova with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory on Tuesday. This win marked a significant milestone, propelling her into her first ever WTA 1000 quarterfinal.

Remarkably, Uchijima had never defeated a Top 25 opponent before arriving in Madrid. Here, she achieved this feat not just once, but in consecutive matches – first against the formidable World No. 3 Jessica Pegula, followed by her victory over Alexandrova. Against Alexandrova, she demonstrated impressive breaking capabilities, converting five break points throughout the match, and has now won six straight sets in the tournament.

Uchijima`s current success in Madrid builds upon recent positive momentum. Just last week, she also reached the quarterfinals at the tournament in Rouen, France. Before these two consecutive quarterfinal appearances, she had only reached this stage at the WTA level once in her entire career (in Monastir in 2022).

Let`s take a closer look at the statistics and numbers that highlight Uchijima`s impressive breakthrough:

By the Numbers: A glance at Uchijima’s career and Madrid run

Career and tour history

• **Best Madrid result by a Japanese player:** By reaching the quarterfinals, Uchijima equals the best performance by a Japanese player at the tournament, matching Naomi Osaka`s run in 2019.
• **Chasing history:** She has the opportunity to become only the second Japanese player since 1990 to reach a Tier I / WTA 1000 semifinal on clay courts, following Ai Sugiyama who achieved this in Rome in 2003.

Wins over top players

• **First Top 25 win:** Achieved by defeating World No. 3 Jessica Pegula in the Round of 32 on Sunday.
• **Second Top 25 win:** Secured by overcoming World No. 22 Ekaterina Alexandrova in the Round of 16 on Tuesday.
• **Consecutive Top 25 wins:** This marks the first time in her career she has achieved back-to-back wins against Top 25 ranked opponents.

2024 season and momentum

• **Season record before Madrid:** 13 wins and 12 losses.
• **Current season record:** 17 wins and 12 losses.
• **Back-to-back quarterfinals:** Reached the quarterfinal stage in Rouen and now in Madrid, after previously only reaching one career WTA quarterfinal (Monastir 2022).
• **Tiebreak success:** Uchijima has won five tiebreaks this season, placing her third behind Clara Tauson (8 wins) and Emma Raducanu (6 wins) in this metric.

Madrid Open match stats

• **Break points saved:** 19, ranking her second among all quarterfinalists (Belinda Bencic leads with 25).
• **Break points converted:** 17, placing her second among quarterfinalists (Peyton Stearns leads with 19).
• **Time on court:** Totaling 6 hours and 26 minutes across her matches, the longest duration among all players who reached the quarterfinals.