Aryna Sabalenka’s world number one ranking will be on the line at the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto, where the Belarusian star aims to extend her hard court dominance in the build up to her US Open title defense. Sabalenka has won 23 of her 24 hard court matches this year, the lone defeat her loss to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final. But she was turfed out in the quarter-finals on the clay of Roland Garros and fell to Naomi Osaka in the round of 16 on the grass courts of Wimbledon.
Key Factors
“It’s very tricky, but this year I didn’t do well so I’m here. The lone defeat was her loss to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final. “I knew going into this match I might struggle a little bit after a little break, but I was ready for that. “She wasn’t going to give away some easy balls.
If Sabalenka fails to reach the round of 16 in Toronto, Kazakhstan’s Rybakina can rise to number one if she lifts the trophy. All 32 seeded players received first-round byes. Play got underway on Sunday with Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima booking a second-round meeting with Sabalenka with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Spain’s Cristina Bucsa. Czech Sara Bejlek posted a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 victory over China’s Wang Xiyu, who was hobbled by a left leg problem, and booked a second-round meeting with Swiatek. Seven-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams bowed out in the first round, falling 6-4, 6-1 to Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova. (This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) World number one Aryna Sabalenka returned to her hard court comfort zone with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima in the WTA 1000 in Toronto on Tuesday. It was a solid start for Sabalenka in her bid to bounce back after falling in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros and in the round of 16 at Wimbledon. The Belarusian star has dominated on hard courts this year and on Tuesday notched her 24th win in 25 matches on the surface. She held for 4-2, and when she had her first chance to serve it out she pounced, sealing the match on her second match point with an overhead winner. Uchijima had surprised the Belarusian in the opening game of the match, clawing back from 40-15 down to break on the way to a quick 2-0 lead. In the third round she’ll face China’s Zhang Shuai, who was leading Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 4-0 when the Latvian retired from their match. In her first match since her Wimbledon title defense ended with a third-round exit, Poland’s seventh-seeded Swiatek was rolling through the first nine games, appearing in total control with a double-break for a 3-0 lead in the second. Fernandez, the 30th seed, dispatched 19-year-old fifth-ranked Russian Andreeva 6-1, 6-4 in 80 minutes, snapping a seven-match losing streak against top-10 opponents.
Sabalenka has never made it past the semi-finals in Canada, which alternates each year between Montreal and Toronto, but she said she was feeling rested and ready to reassert herself after taking time off in the wake of her All England Club exit. “If you go far at the grass court (season) you feel really fatigued and you’re not able to pull out any good tennis so what’s the reason of coming when your body is really so much stress,” she said. “I’m happy with the performance, I’m happy with the fight,” Sabalenka said after her second-round opener. “The key for me was to stay positive, stay strong, and to keep being patient,” Fernandez said. “In the beginning there were a lot of long rallies and that was a key for me to stick with it, trusting in my abilities, and to continue on playing my game throughout the match.”
Fernandez last beat a player ranked so high when she downed fourth-rated Jessica Pegula on her way to last year’s WTA Washington title.
Evidence and Data
“I spent there five, six days maybe. I felt much better, I couldn’t wait to get back on court and start working towards my goals for this swing. Former world number one Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, will be aiming to regroup after slumping to a third-round defeat at Wimbledon. Rybakina anchors a bottom half of the draw that also includes fourth-seeded Coco Gauff, four-time Grand Slam champion Osaka and newly crowned Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova. They have met twice already this year, with Noskova winning both times. Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Muchova is among the notable absentees as she recovers from a minor surgery.
Sabalenka heads a top half of the draw that also includes two-time winner Jessica Pegula, the third seed, 2024 finalist Amanda Anisimova and seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland. Czech Noskova, who broke into the top 10 after winning her first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, is seeded sixth and could face another rising star in the Philippines’ Alexandra Eala in the third round. Tricky schedule The ATP Masters 1000 in Montreal this week has also been hit by high-profile defections, including that of Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner.
“I think the rest was much-needed,” she told reporters on Sunday. Sabalenka said the scheduling is “tricky” for any player that does well in the grass court season, with the Canadian tournaments followed by a 1000-level event in Cincinnati in a schedule that offers little respite before the US Open begins on August 30.
Reigning champion Victoria Mboko of Canada, who thrilled Montreal fans with her run to a first WTA title last year, remains sidelined with the knee injury that forced her out of Wimbledon.
Sabalenka’s Recovery Plan After Wimbledon Exit
After her early exit from Wimbledon, Aryna Sabalenka expressed a desire to step back from tennis. She took a break over the summer, enjoying a holiday on the Greek island of Mykonos. Reflecting on her performance on clay and grass, she stated, “I was trying a couple of things, didn’t go the way that I expected. And now we’re kind of back to basics and I really hope it’s going to work out well.” Sabalenka is now focused on returning to her fundamentals as she prepares for her upcoming matches.
