Sabalenka and Pegula, two of Toronto’s biggest favourites, both fall in the round of 16
Ekaterina Alexandrova beat top seed Aryna Sabalenka 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 and Diana Shnaider ended a four-match losing run against Jessica Pegula with a 6-3, 6-3 win, sending both Americans and the world No. 1 out of Toronto on the same day.
Aryna Sabalenka, Toronto 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz
Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova, the No. 16 seed, beat top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 in the round of 16 of the National Bank Open on Saturday night, leveling their head-to-head series at 5-5 and denying the world No. 1 a quarter-final berth in Toronto. Hours earlier, Russian Diana Shnaider, seeded No. 15, had already beaten No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula of the United States 6-3, 6-3 to reach the same stage, a result that erased an 0-4 career deficit against the American in a single afternoon.
Alexandrova, ranked No. 19, needed a tiebreak to close out a first set she had led 6-5 on serve, then dug in through a tense decider to beat the top-ranked player in the world for the third time in her career. It was her first WTA 1000 quarter-final of the season and her first at this event. “I just tried to play every single point as if it was the last one,” she said afterward. “With her you don’t get a lot of chances during the matches. I had a lot today. But I couldn’t realize all of them.”
“Honestly I was trying not to think about the score, about anything. Just hit the ball and that’s it. I’m super happy I could win. After the second set I thought my chance already passed me.”
Alexandrova: “I don’t know…”
Asked how a now-even head-to-head affected her belief she could unsettle Sabalenka’s rhythm, she added: “I don’t know if I could get her off the rhythm. She played great. Maybe I was lucky on some shots. Honestly I don’t know. Ok super happy with that result. Beating No. 1, it always feels nice. I will just enjoy tonight.”
Alexandrova had beaten Australian Talia Gibson 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 and Colombian Camila Osorio 6-3, 7-6 (4) earlier in the tournament, while Sabalenka, top-ranked and top-seeded, had come through wins over Chinese Shuai Zhang 6-3, 6-4 and Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima 6-3, 6-3. Alexandrova will next face Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, the No. 9 seed, who defeated American Amanda Anisimova, seeded No. 8 (6-2, 6-4).
Shnaider’s reverse history
Shnaider’s win over Pegula was just as pointed a reversal of history. The 22-year-old had never beaten the American in four previous meetings, most recently losing to her in the Washington semi-finals last week, but broke twice in each set to close out the win in straight sets.
It was Shnaider’s first WTA 1000 quarter-final of the season and, by her own recent standard, another marker in a breakout summer that has also included a third career win over a top-10 opponent. Shnaider, ranked No. 18, had beaten No. 17 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia 6-3, 6-3 and Slovakia’s Rebecca Sramkova 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 to reach the fourth round, while Pegula, ranked No. 3, had defeated Uzbekistan’s Kamilla Rakhimova 6-4, 6-0 and Poland’s Magdalena Frech 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Shnaider will next face Poland’s Iga Swiatek, the No. 7 seed.
WTA 1000 Toronton round of 16 matches
- E. Alexandrova (16) d. A. Sabalenka (1): 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4
- E. Svitolina (9) d. A. Anisimova (8): 6-2, 6-4
- D. Shnaider (15) d. J. Pegula (3): 6-3, 6-3
- I. Swiatek (7) d. M. Kostyuk (10): 3-6, 6-1, 6-2
- A. Eala (25) vs B. Bencic (12): Sunday
- A. Korneeva vs C. Gauff (4): Sunday
- L. Fernandez (30) vs N. Osaka (11): Sunday
- L. Samsonova vs E. Rybakina (2): Sunday
