Elena Rybakina, the Australian Open champion and tournament’s second seed, somehow dragged herself into the third round of the WTA 1000 hardcourt tournament in Toronto on Wednesday. Look, she won. That’s the bottom line. But the way she did it? It was a straight-up battle that lasted over two and a half hours, and frankly, it left us with more questions than answers about her form heading into the crucial US Open hardcourt run.
Rybakina’s Victory Was Anything But Clean
Against Australia’s Daria Kasatkina, Rybakina took the match 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 in a grueling 2 hours and 33 minutes. She started hot, ripping off six consecutive winners to kick things off. Amazing, right? Then the wheels got wobbly. She racked up a shocking 58 unforced errors! For a player of her caliber, that’s just… wild. Her serve, usually a weapon, was a roller coaster, dropping 16 double faults against only 15 aces. After the match, Rybakina herself admitted she wants “to see better serve, the percentage,” acknowledging that even if “in key moments it worked, but still the percentage is quite low.” She even blamed “jet lag and everything,” saying her “energy level could be better.” Seriously, she hit back-to-back double faults to lose the second set, and then *three* double faults serving for the match! She did get it done, but she’s gonna have to dial that in before facing 28th-seeded American Ann Li next. She said, “For the first match it wasn’t too bad, but of course I want to improve.” You can bet she means it.
Pegula and Gauff Dig Deep, Show Their Mental Game
Third seed Jessica Pegula also had to fight tooth and nail to secure her spot, overcoming Poland’s Magdalena Frech 3-6, 6-3, 6-2. Pegula was coming off a rain-delayed final loss in Washington just days before, and she had beaten Frech in the second round there a week prior, too. So, it was a familiar, tough matchup. She wasn’t shy about it, saying she was “just happy with the way I was able to mentally stay in there.” She called it “more of a mental battle just for me figuring out what to do and not get too frustrated. Having to face an opponent like that back-to-back is never easy, especially with a quick turnaround this week.” That’s grit, man. She’s set to face Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova next.
Meanwhile, fourth-seeded Coco Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam winner, moved on by taking down fellow American Kayla Day 6-2, 7-5. Gauff also spoke about the bigger picture, stating her “goal is to peak at the US Open, so I know maybe this first week I’m not going to be feeling 100 percent.” She feels “by tomorrow I’ll be good,” but acknowledged it was “just a long couple of weeks for me training.” She’s gearing up for Greece’s Maria Sakkari next.
So, three of the top four seeds are through in Toronto, but it was far from a walk in the park for any of them. Rybakina needs to seriously clean up her act, while Pegula and Gauff are clearly pushing through the early tournaments with their eyes locked on the bigger prize. Can these elite players find their top form quickly? The mental and physical grind of the tour is real, and it’s going to be fascinating to see how they adjust as the tournament rolls on. The next matches are going to be absolutely crucial for building momentum.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
Leave a Reply