Aryna Sabalenka defeated Talia Gibson 6-2, 7-6(7-2) on August 16 to reach the third round of the Cincinnati Masters. Sabalenka saved five match points in the 12th game of the second set and won on her sixth match point. She described the conditions as "crazy weather" and said Gibson "played great tennis and was more aggressive in the second set," but she was glad to stay calm and close out the win in straight sets [1, 2, 3].
Elena Rybakina, the Australian Open champion and world number two, beat Taylor Townsend 6-3, 6-4 the same day. Rybakina said she was "happy with the serve," which helped her a lot after a tough week in Toronto that featured many three-set matches [4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3].
Mirra Andreeva, Roland Garros titleholder, cruised to a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Oleksandra Oliynykova in just 65 minutes. She saved all seven break points against her own serve and broke Oliynykova five times in the dominant performance [4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3].
Defending champion Iga Swiatek, seeded seventh, also advanced with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Emiliana Arango. Swiatek credited patience and adjusting to the court for her strong second set and said her next opponent will be tough competitor Maria Sakkari [4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3].
In men's action, Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-5 as part of his US Open preparation following injuries [4, 5, 6]. Coco Gauff won over Liudmila Samsonova 2-6, 6-4, 6-1, while Ben Shelton was eliminated by Jaime Faria [3].
Sabalenka is aiming to build momentum for the US Open, having won three titles so far in 2026 but none since March [1, 2, 3]. Rybakina is focusing on recovery after a hard Toronto run and welcomed a "low-stress" start in Cincinnati [4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3].
Sabalenka, Rybakina, Andreeva, and Swiatek will all contest their third-round matches later in the tournament, continuing their campaigns at the Cincinnati Masters.
