Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina (2) defeated Japan's Naomi Osaka (13) 4:6, 7:6 (7:5), 6:4 in three sets to reach the semifinals of the Canadian Open tennis tournament. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Oddly enough, the two well-known, even famous tennis players – 28-year-old Osaka and 27-year-old Rybakina – had never met on court before. The quarterfinal in Toronto was their first encounter.
In the very first game of the meeting, the Japanese player secured a break. She did not allow her opponent to break back until the end of the set – 6:4. In the second set, Osaka took two of Rybakina's serves, but Elena responded in kind and was more accurate in the tie-break – 7:5.
In the third set, Rybakina's serve finally started working properly. This seemed to break the opponent's spirit. After breaking in the seventh game, the Kazakhstani player brought the difficult match to victory. 4:6, 7:6 (7:5), 6:4 in 2 hours 33 minutes. Aces were 15:3, double faults 6:6, total points won 111:107.
Rybakina's opponent in the semifinals will be American Coco Gauff. The world No. 4 advanced to the quarterfinals without a fight due to the withdrawal of Swiss player Belinda Bencic (14).
The Canadian Open tennis tournament dates back to 1881, when its first predecessor, a men's tournament, was held. Eleven years later, a women's tournament was added.
In even years, the women's tournament is held in Toronto and the men's in Montreal. Since 2011, the hard-court events, part of the US Open Series, have been held simultaneously.
The current WTA-1000 tournament in Toronto is officially called the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. The prize fund is $7.4 million.
Over the years, the tournament has been won by Americans Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Serena Williams, as well as Germany's Steffi Graf, Switzerland's Martina Hingis, Belgians Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, France's Amelie Mauresmo, and other stars.
Current champion Victoria Mboko is missing this year's home tournament due to injury. In the 2025 semifinals, the Canadian defeated Rybakina 1:6, 7:5, 7:6 (7:4), and in the final beat Osaka 2:6, 6:4, 6:1.