WTA 1000 Cincinnati: Sabalenka Makes Strong Return, Rybakina Advances at the Last Moment

On Saturday night into Sunday, Aryna Sabalenka made her return to competition. The world No. 1, who hadn’t played since her semifinal loss at Wimbledon to Amanda Anisimova, had withdrawn from the WTA 1000 tournament in Montreal to recover and be in top form for Cincinnati and the US Open—two tournaments where she is the defending champion.

Exempt from the first round, the Belarusian entered the fray in the second round and faced a tough draw in Marketa Vondrousova. The Czech player, who had defeated Jaqueline Cristian (6-3, 6-1) in the first round, had won their last two encounters, including their most recent match in the semifinals of the WTA 500 grass-court tournament in Berlin before Wimbledon.

While their head-to-head record suggested a balanced duel (four wins each), Sabalenka ultimately prevailed in straight sets. Vondrousova failed to convert any of the twelve break points she earned in the match before falling (7-5, 6-1).

Sabalenka advances to the third round, where she will face Emma Raducanu. The British player had a swift victory over Olga Danilovic (6-3, 6-2). Another top seed to qualify for the round of 16 was Elena Rybakina. The Kazakh, a semifinalist at the WTA 1000 in Montreal in recent days, continued her momentum in Ohio.

Facing Renata Zarazua, the world No. 10 took a set to find her rhythm but eventually rallied to win (4-6, 6-0, 7-5). Despite firing 14 aces, Rybakina made things difficult for herself but still managed to secure a spot in the third round.

A quarterfinalist in the 2022 edition of Cincinnati, Rybakina will now face Elise Mertens for a place in the round of 16. The Belgian defeated Clervie Ngounoue (3-6, 7-6, 7-5) a few hours later.