World No. 2 Elena Rybakina advanced to the fourth round of the prestigious Cincinnati Open-2026 after a hard-fought victory over Poland's Magdalena Frech (ranked 41st) with a score of 6:4, 7:6 (7:2). The match, interrupted by rain, lasted more than three hours, reports infohub.kz.

The Pole took the opening game, but the Kazakhstani quickly restored parity with a break back in the fourth game. At 5:4 in Rybakina's favor, rain began, forcing the players off the court. After the resumption, Elena broke Frech's serve to seal the set. Previously, the Kazakhstani had beaten Frech three times.

The second set was even more tense. Up to 4:4, both players held serve confidently, then exchanged breaks. Rybakina saved the eleventh game from 0:40, and the set went to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Elena won five points in a row to close out the match.

The final score of 6:4, 7:6 (7:2) was recorded after 3 hours and 2 minutes of playing time, including rain delays. Match statistics: aces — 5:5, double faults — 4:1, total points won — 90:73.

In the quarterfinals, Rybakina will face the winner of the match between Russia's Diana Shnaider (14th seed) and Poland's Maja Chwalińska (23rd seed). Their match was also interrupted by rain that hit Cincinnati.

After the early exits of Alexander Shevchenko and Yulia Putintseva, Kazakh tennis in Cincinnati is represented by Rybakina and Anna Danilina (6th seed). Danilina, partnering with Serbia's Aleksandra Krunić (5th seed), defeated the American-Danish duo of Ann Li (141) and Clara Tauson (76) 6:4, 6:2 in the first round of doubles.

The current WTA-1000 Cincinnati Open is the 80th edition. This oldest tournament in the United States has never changed its venue. The competition is held on outdoor hard courts in Mason, a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio. The prize money for the women's Cincinnati Open-2026 is $7.43 million.

Over the years, the tournament has been won by stars such as Americans Lindsay Davenport and Serena Williams, Belgium's Kim Clijsters, Russia's Maria Sharapova, and others.

Defending champion Iga Świątek (5th seed) opened with a 6:3, 6:0 win over Colombia's Emiliana Arango (95th seed), then defeated Greece's Maria Sakkari (32nd seed) 4:6, 6:1, 6:1.

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (1st seed), whom Rybakina is trying to catch in the WTA rankings, beat Australia's Talia Gibson (65th seed) 6:2, 7:6 (7:2) in her first match.