Aryna Sabalenka previously reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in July.
In a notable upset, defending champion Aryna Sabalenka suffered a 6-1, 6-4 defeat against Elena Rybakina in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.
Rybakina of Kazakhstan dominated the opening set and tallied an impressive 11 aces against the world number one, securing victory in just 74 minutes.
“I’m happy with the serve. It was the key today,” Rybakina commented following her win.
“I served really well. If she had been serving well it would have been a totally different match. It was also intense from the baseline. I just hope to continue like this.”
The 2022 Wimbledon champion, Rybakina, is now set to face this year’s All England Club champion, Iga Swiatek, in the semi-finals. Swiatek defeated Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-4.
Poland’s Swiatek, currently ranked third globally, maintained control throughout her match against Kalinskaya, who appeared to be hindered by a calf issue and had to save four match points in the penultimate game.
Ultimately, Swiatek prevailed, advancing to her fourth WTA 1,000-level semi-final of the season.
“I just played my game. It was not easy but I’m happy that I stayed solid and kept my intensity,” Swiatek stated.
In another quarter-final match, French Open champion Coco Gauff was eliminated after an error-filled performance, losing in three sets to Italy’s Jasmine Paolini.
Despite winning the first set, Gauff struggled with 16 double faults, allowing Paolini to break her serve eight times en route to a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 comeback victory.
Paolini, the seventh seed, who also overcame a twisted ankle in the third set, is scheduled to face Veronika Kudermetova in the semi-finals.
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