Sabalenka upset by Alexandrova in Toronto fourth round

World number one Aryna Sabalenka suffered a significant upset at the Toronto Masters on Saturday, August 8, 2026, losing in the fourth round to Russian 16th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova. The defeat marks a setback for the Belarusian as she prepares to defend her US Open title later this month.

Alexandrova secured the victory in a hard-fought three-set match, winning 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 29 minutes. The result was the biggest upset of the tournament and ended Sabalenka's recent run of form. Alexandrova will now face Ukraine's Elina Svitolina in the quarterfinals.

The match began with Sabalenka breaking Alexandrova's serve to take an early 2-0 lead. However, Alexandrova responded by winning four consecutive games to seize control. Sabalenka's performance was marked by uncharacteristic errors, including seven double faults and a first-serve percentage of just 46.2 percent in the opening set. Alexandrova capitalized on these opportunities, winning five of the last six points in the first-set tiebreak.

Sabalenka leveled the match by taking the second set 6-4, but the momentum shifted again in the decider. Alexandrova broke Sabalenka's serve three times in the final set....