Naomi Osaka was knocked out in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 in Toronto by Elena Rybakina, even though she had won the first set.
Naomi Osaka won’t be making it to the semifinals of the WTA 1000 in Toronto. The Japanese player of Haitian descent was defeated by world No. 2 Elena Rybakina in a match that lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes. After taking the lead in the match, Osaka eventually lost in three sets, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4.
The current world No. 13 had actually started the match in the best possible way. She won the first set 6-4 and then took the lead in the second set. However, while Rybakina initially struggled, she gradually managed to get back into the game. Indeed, she put up a strong challenge against Naomi Osaka, who, on her side, had several chances to finally take control of the match.We saw an Elena Rybakina who held on until the tie-break, where she won 7-5 to even things up. The current No. 2 in the WTA rankings hit 15 aces over the whole match, including eight in the final set. At 3-2, Osaka had four break points, but the Kazakh saved them all to close out the match 6-4 in the last set.
For Naomi Osaka, this loss ends a positive week in Toronto. After beating Panna Udvardy, Elise Mertens, and Leylah Fernandez, the 28-year-old had reached the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event for the first time this year. She had notably knocked out Fernandez in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, before facing Rybakina.Her performances at this Canadian tournament confirm that Osaka is gradually getting back to more consistent results in the big events. She had already reached the final in Montreal in 2025, where she lost to Victoria Mboko. In Toronto, she didn’t manage to go as far, but she reached the later rounds of a WTA 1000 again.
As for Elena Rybakina, she earned the right to continue her run in Toronto and will face American Coco Gauff in the semi-finals.
