Second seed Elena Rybakina, third seed Jessica Pegula, and fourth-seeded Coco Gauff all secured their spots in the third round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto on Wednesday. The event serves as a critical hardcourt preparation period ahead of the upcoming US Open.
Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina, representing Kazakhstan, overcame a challenging match against Australian Daria Kasatkina, winning 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in two hours and 33 minutes. Despite opening with six consecutive winners, the world number two struggled with consistency, committing 58 unforced errors. Rybakina noted that she is still adjusting to jet lag and energy levels, adding, “I want to see better serve, the percentage. Today in key moments it worked, but still the percentage is quite low.” She recorded 15 aces but also 16 double faults, including back-to-back errors to lose the second set. She will next face 28th-seeded American Ann Li, who defeated Canadian wildcard Kayla Cross 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.
Jessica Pegula, coming off a rain-delayed final in Washington on Monday, battled past Poland’s Magdalena Frech with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory. Reflecting on the mental challenge of facing the same opponent in consecutive weeks, Pegula stated, “I was just happy with the way I was able to mentally stay in there. It was more of a mental battle just for me figuring out what to do and not get too frustrated.” Pegula is set to meet Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova, who advanced after Katerina Siniakova retired while trailing 6-7 (1/7), 6-0, 5-2.
Coco Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam winner, moved comfortably into the next round by defeating fellow American Kayla Day 6-2, 7-5. Gauff, who will face Greece’s Maria Sakkari, acknowledged the fatigue from recent training, noting, “The goal is to peak at the US Open, so I know maybe this first week I’m not going to be feeling 100 percent. I feel like by tomorrow I’ll be good.”
In other notable results, French Open champion and world number five Mirra Andreeva dominated Czech player Karolina Pliskova 6-0, 6-2. The Russian will now take on Canada’s 30th seed Leylah Fernandez, who secured a 6-2, 6-2 win over Mexico’s Renata Zarazua.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka advanced with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Hungary’s Panna Udvardy and is scheduled to play Belgian Elise Mertens. Meanwhile, Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova was eliminated by American Caty McNally, who won 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.
Caty McNally will face Alexandra Eala in the next round. Eala, who recently claimed her maiden WTA title in Washington, earned her spot by defeating Alycia Parks 6-1, 4-6, 6-2.
