Sensation in Toronto: Sabalenka Eliminated by Alexandrova
World No. 1 Arina Sabalenka was defeated in the Round of 16 at the WTA Toronto tournament by Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova. The tournament also lost defending champion Jessica Pegula.
World No. 1 Arina Sabalenka was defeated in the Round of 16 at the WTA Toronto tournament by Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova. The tournament also lost defending champion Jessica Pegula.
The world's top-ranked tennis player, Belarusian Arina Sabalenka, suffered a surprising elimination already in the Round of 16 at the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto. Russia's Ekaterina Alexandrova proved to be the better player, prevailing after a hard-fought battle with a score of 7:6 (7:3), 4:6, 6:4.
According to most sources, the match lasted two hours and 31 minutes, although some reports suggest it was two minutes shorter. Alexandrova, ranked 19th in the world and the 16th seed, improved her head-to-head record against Sabalenka, who had previously won five and lost four of their encounters.
The match was full of momentum shifts. Sabalenka started brilliantly, taking a 2-0 lead, but Alexandrova responded by winning four consecutive games. The first set went to a tiebreak, where the Russian was dominant, winning five of the last six points to take the set.
Sabalenka refused to give up. In the second set, she made a crucial break to lead 4-3, then served out the set to level the match at 1-1. However, in the deciding set, Alexandrova built an early 3-1 lead and never let go, closing out the match and securing one of the biggest wins of her career.
"I just tried to play every point as if it were the last," the 31-year-old Russian said after the match to Le Figaro. "I tried to take as many risks as possible because I felt that was the only way to create opportunities."
This was not the only shock of the day in Toronto. Two-time defending champion (2023 and 2024) American Jessica Pegula (3rd on the WTA list) also ended her run. She was defeated 6:3, 6:3 by Russia's Diana Shnaider, the world No. 17.
Shnaider (22) impressed with her play, especially given the windy conditions. "I feel like I've been very solid this week, both in defense and in setting up my winners," Shnaider said. With this victory, her record against top-5 players is now even, three wins and three losses.
Unlike Sabalenka and Pegula, Poland's Iga Swiatek (8th) lived up to her role as favorite. After losing the first set, she turned the match around against Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk (11th), winning 3:6, 6:1, 6:2. In the last two sets, she saved nine break points and did not lose her serve once.
"I'm clearly in a different rhythm. I feel like I can play my game. I couldn't do that at Roland-Garros," Swiatek emphasized, referring to her loss to Kostyuk on the Parisian clay two months ago. "By the end, I was quite confident in my game plan and my strengths."
In the quarterfinals, Swiatek will face Shnaider. It will be their second career meeting; the first was last year on clay in Madrid, where the Pole won in three sets. In the other quarterfinal, Alexandrova takes on Ukraine's Elina Svitolina (9th), who earlier defeated American Amanda Anisimova (10th) 6:2, 6:4. Svitolina won the Toronto tournament in 2017.
