Elena Rybakina, the reigning Australian Open champion and world No. 2 from Kazakhstan, beat American 28th seed Ann Li 6-2, 7-5 in 90 minutes to reach the fourth round of the WTA Toronto Masters on August 7 [1, 2, 3]. She will face Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova, who defeated Australian Maya Joint 7-5, 6-7 (3-7), 6-2 to advance [1, 2, 3]. Samsonova leads their career rivalry 4-2, though Rybakina has won their last two meetings, including the 2025 Strasbourg final [1, 2, 3].
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, seeded 30th, ended a seven-match losing streak against top-10 players by defeating 19-year-old Russian fifth-ranked Mirra Andreeva 6-1, 6-4 in 80 minutes [1, 2, 3]. Fernandez won 24 of 27 points on her first serve and 17 of 23 points on Andreeva’s second serve, while Andreeva made 34 unforced errors and hit 17 winners [1, 2, 3]. Fernandez said after the match, "The key for me was to stay positive, stay strong, and to keep being patient. She wasn’t going to give away some easy balls. In the beginning there were a lot of long rallies and that was a key for me to stick with it, trusting in my abilities, and to continue on playing my game throughout the match" [1].
Fernandez will face 11th seed Naomi Osaka from Japan next. Osaka beat Belgium’s 20th seed Elise Mertens 6-1, 6-2 in 71 minutes [1, 2, 3]. Fernandez and Osaka have split their two prior meetings, with Fernandez winning at the 2021 US Open and Osaka winning at Wuhan in 2025 [1, 2, 3]. Osaka said, "It’s tough because she’s lefty. Obviously there aren’t many lefties on tour, so it takes me awhile to get used to that. She has a really good attitude. I’ve never seen her down. She always keeps fighting. I really appreciate that about her" [3].
US fourth seed Coco Gauff, a two-time Grand Slam champion, also advanced by defeating Greece’s Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-4 in 76 minutes [1, 2, 3].
The fourth round of the WTA Toronto Masters will continue as Rybakina faces Samsonova and Fernandez takes on Osaka.
