Yulia Putintseva's revival heralded by bags being stolen in Madrid: "I got nothing and I cannot get worse"

Yulia Putintseva is the big surprise in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open and mentioned that she experienced luggage theft in Madrid while making a layover on her way to California for the Indian Wells tournament.

The world No. 68 is enjoying a good moment during the Sunshine Double. In Indian Wells, she secured three consecutive straight-sets victories, including wins over Ekaterina Alexandrova (No. 15) and Madison Keys (No. 18). However, she was eliminated in the round of 16 against Iga Swiatek by 6-1, 6-2 in a lackluster performance by the Kazakh.

This week in Miami, she once again achieved a good winning streak and is now in the quarterfinals. With another four victories, Putintseva overcame Liudmila Samsonova (No. 13) and Anhelina Kalinina (No. 32).

Despite the good moment she is experiencing, she suffered luggage theft a few weeks ago and was left with nothing but her passport in hand. Nevertheless, she managed to speak with her lawyer to expedite the paperwork for entering the United States and had to replace sneakers, rackets, and clothing:

"When they stole everything from me, I called my old coach and I talked to Matteo [Donati, her new coach]," Putintseva told WTA Insider. "I said from this moment everything should be good now. I got nothing and I cannot get worse. We were laughing and I thought, now I have to play good."

The former tennis player Matteo Donati recently joined her team at the end of the 2023 season: "I saw on Instagram that he posted that he quit because of injuries," Putintseva said. "I knew him from juniors so I thought, let's give it a try."

"I'm improving each part of my game, but most importantly I'm getting more confident," tha Kazakh added. "I'm very happy that Matteo is there and trying to help everywhere. We stay competitive when we practice with each other.

"It's better because sometimes at practice you get bored because you are doing the same thing over and over again, so we're trying to make things interesting."

"Dancing and singing are my thing," Putintseva said. "Here, I'm staying at home so Matteo is driving my car around. I'm always singing so I hope he's enjoying it. But if he doesn't, it doesn't change anything -- I'll keep on singing. But sometimes I think he's trying to turn the music down."

Before the Sunshine Double, the Kazakh had reached the third round of a WTA 1000 three times in her career, and this month she has already added two more occasions. Putintseva will face Victoria Azarenka in the quarterfinals and has the possibility of reaching the semifinals of a WTA 1000 for the first time.