Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva failed to clear the first-round hurdle at the prestigious WTA-1000 tournament in Toronto, Canada. In her opening match, she lost to China's Zhang Shuai 4:6, 1:6, reports infohub.kz.

The match lasted just 1 hour and 11 minutes. The Chinese player, ranked 62nd in the world, convincingly proved her superiority over the world's 82nd-ranked player.

In the first set, Putintseva, trailing 1:4, managed to recover two breaks and level the score at 4:4. However, she then lost her serve again, which proved decisive in the set. In the second set, the Chinese player made three breaks, while the Kazakhstani failed to convert any break points. The final score was 4:6, 1:6, with total points won at 50:62 in favor of the opponent.

Elena Rybakina, seeded second at the tournament, receives a bye in the first round and will face the winner of the match between China's Wang Xinyu (world No. 41) and Australia's Daria Kasatkina (world No. 61) in the second round.

Meanwhile, the updated WTA rankings, usually published at the start of the week, were released on Tuesday this time. The reason: rain in Washington, which stretched the final of the WTA-500 Mubadala DC Open over two days.

In the decisive match, a sensation occurred: the Philippines' Alexandra Eala not only defeated world No. 3 Jessica Pegula but also conceded just one game in the third set – 4:6, 6:4, 6:0. Following this success, the Asian representative jumped 20 places in the rankings.

The final of another major tournament, which concluded last week, also had its share of surprises. 16-year-old Russian Kristina Lyutova claimed her first WTA-250 title in Memphis, USA, defeating Czech Daria Vidmanova – 1:6, 6:1, 6:3. This success allowed her to rise 103 positions in the rankings, and she now occupies the 126th spot.

In the doubles rankings, Kazakhstan's Zhibek Kulambayeva continues to progress. After winning a Challenger on the Canary Islands with Czech Anna Shishkova, our tennis player moved up 10 places and continues her assault on the top 100.

This week, the center of the tennis world is in Canada. The Canadian Open dates back to 1881, when the first men's tournament was held, and 11 years later, the women's tournament began. In even years, the women's event takes place in Toronto, and the men's in Montreal. Since 2011, the hard-court competitions, part of the US Open Series, have been held simultaneously.

The current WTA-1000 tournament in Toronto and ATP-1000 in Montreal are officially called the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. The prize money for the women's tournament is $7.4 million.

Over the years, winners of the tournament have included such stars as Americans Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Serena Williams, Germany's Steffi Graf, Switzerland's Martina Hingis, Belgians Justine Henin and Kim Clijsters, France's Amelie Mauresmo, and others.

The defending champion is Canada's Victoria Mboko. In the semifinals, she defeated Elena Rybakina (1:6, 7:5, 7:6 (7:4)), and in the final, Japan's Naomi Osaka (2:6, 6:4, 6:1).