World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka suffered a major setback ahead of the US Open, crashing out of the Canada Open in the pre-quarterfinals. The Belarusian star was beaten by 16th-seeded Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 4-6 in the women’s singles third round.
Sabalenka lost the opening set in a tiebreak but fought back strongly to take the second set and force a decider. However, Alexandrova maintained her aggressive approach in the third set to seal a memorable victory.
The win marked Alexandrova’s fifth career victory over a World No. 1 and also helped her reach the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 tournament for the first time.
Sabalenka was not the only big name to exit. American star Jessica Pegula was also knocked out after suffering a 3-6, 3-6 defeat against Diana Shnaider.
