Making her first Cincinnati Open appearance since 2022, Serena Williams' return to Warren County was short-lived. Playing alongside her sister, Venus Williams, the 14-time Grand Slam-winning duo lost in the first round to the tandem of Mason native Peyton Stearns and Marta Kostyuk, 6-2, 1-6, 1-0 (8).
World No. 2 Elena Rybakina repelled a resilient Magdalena Frech in straight sets 6-4, 7-6(2) to advance to the Round of 16 at the Cincinnati Open.
Iga Swiatek dropped the first set but rebounded with a dominating final two sets to beat Maria Sakkari 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 at the Cincinnati Open.
Montreal's Félix Auger-Aliassime made a winning return to the court with a straight sets 6-3, 7-5 win over Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in second-round action Sunday at the Cincinnati Open.
Leylah Annie Fernandez, the only Canadian women in singles at the Cincinnati Open, suffered an upset loss to China's Xiyu Wang on Sunday. The Montreal native lost 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to exit the tournament without notching a win after earning a bye through the first round.
Rafael Jodar rallied from 1-5 down in the third set to beat Denis Shapovalov on Saturday in Cincinnati. The final set was delayed twice due to the Spaniard's shoelaces breaking. "I cannot control that," the 19-year-old said. "I'll make sure to have more and more new shoes prepared for the next match."
Emiliana Arango beat Venus Williams in straight sets 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the second round of the Cincinnati Open. Venus is still set to compete at the tournament in doubles with her sister Serena Williams.
Denis Shapovalov took exception to a body shot from Adrian Mannarino during their first-round match in Cincinnati. "It's always a grey area," the Canadian said. "Depends on the ball. If you have another option, you play it." Shapovalov tagged Mannarino at the net one game later and went on to win in straight sets. "Definitely was looking for that fire," he said.
Ben Shelton successfully defended his National Bank Open title, beating Brandon Nakashima 6-3, 7-6 (4) in an all-American final. The fifth-seeded Shelton has seven career ATP Tour victories, also winning this year in Dallas, Munich and Stuttgart.
Seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek beat second-seeded Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday at the National Bank Open in Toronto for her first WTA Tour title of the year and 26th overall.
Iga Swiatek revealed that she was fired up to hear all the criticism about her game from her native Poland this season. The six-time major champ was proud of how she maintained focus during the tournament in Toronto before releasing the anger after winning on Thursday night.
Iga Swiatek silenced doubters by winning a title for the first time in almost a year. The 25-year-old from Warsaw told TSN it meant even more to do it in front of so many of her fans in Toronto. "Honestly, I was surprised with how many Polish people came," she said. "Probably half the stadium was Polish."
By reaching the Toronto final, Elena Rybakina pulled within 354 points of Aryna Sabalenka for the WTA's No. 1 spot. "Even if you say it's close, for me it still feels very far," the 27-year-old from Kazakhstan insisted. The tour's ace leader is simply focusing on recovery right now. "I'm not sure if I can tell you what is not hurting actually," Rybakina said with a smile. "I feel kind of destroyed."
Zhang Shuai paid tribute to Toronto's Chinese community after teaming up with Czechia's Katerina Siniakova to win the National Bank Open doubles title. "Are we in Canada?" the 37-year-old said. "I feel like I'm in China. I feel everything easy for me." Zhang even received support during a long-awaited visit to Niagara Falls, Ont.
Vicky Mboko was unable to defend her National Bank Open title due to injury, but the Canadian still spent a few days on the grounds in Toronto, which tournament organizers appreciated. NBA star Kawhi Leonard also created a buzz by attending Tuesday's night session and visiting with Coco Gauff.
The ATP event in Montreal was missing top players due to fatigue and injury. Alex Zverev says that's the "sad reality" of 12-day tournaments at this time of year. Zverev believes an "easy fix" is reverting to one week. But Toronto tournament director Karl Hale is quick to highlight how the expanded event is attracting more fans.
All of Alexandra Eala's matches were sold out at the National Bank Open this year as the rising star from the Philippines made her debut in Toronto. "It was just unprecedented," said tournament director Karl Hale. "It was really beautiful to see her so loyal to her fans."
Second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan beat fourth-seeded Coco Gauff 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the National Bank Open final in Toronto. Rybakina will play seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland on Thursday night.
Iga Swiatek of Poland posted a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Elina Svitolina of Ukraine on Wednesday to reach the final of the National Bank Open in Toronto. It will be Swiatek’s first appearance in a WTA Tour final in almost a year.
Defending champion Ben Shelton beat fellow American Learner Tien 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday night to advance to the National Bank Open final in Montreal.
28th-seeded Brandon Nakashima advanced to the National Bank Open men’s singles final with a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over teenager Rafael Jodar. Nakashima will face Ben Shelton in an all-American final.
ADVERTISEMENT
