Elena Rybakina won her first match since Wimbledon, defeating Daria Kasatkina in Toronto 6:3, 5:7, 6:4. The match took place in the second round of the Canadian Open, a WTA-1000 tournament, reports infohub.kz.

The Kazakh-Australian clash was held on the hard courts of Toronto. Rybakina, seeded second, had a bye in the first round. Kasatkina, who married figure skater Natalia Zabiiako in mid-July, edged out China's Wang Xinyu in her opener 1:6, 7:6 (7:5), 7:5.

Before today's match, Elena led the head-to-head against the Tolyatti native 3:2, with all previous meetings on hard courts. The sixth match saw the Kazakh start confidently, breaking for a 3:0 lead, and she closed out the set 6:3, despite some trouble on her serve.

In the second set, Rybakina broke early again but couldn't hold it. She lost her serve in the sixth game but broke back in the seventh. The world No. 2's play resembled a "flashing beacon": brilliant rallies mixed with unforced errors, and aces with double faults. Ultimately, a well-started set was lost 5:7.

In the decider, Elena proved her superiority with great difficulty – 6:3, 5:7, 6:4 in 2 hours 33 minutes. Match statistics: aces 15:3, double faults 16:6, total points won 119:12.

Recall that on July 4, Rybakina lost in the third round of Wimbledon-2026 to Belgium's Elise Mertens – 6:7 (4:7), 1:6. Taking an extraordinary break, the Kazakh returned to the court after 31 days and immediately won.

In the round of 16 in Toronto, Rybakina will face Ann Li (31). The 26-year-old American, who has never met Elena before, defeated Canada's Kayla Cross (138) 7:6 (7:2), 6:3 in her opener.

The Canadian Open tennis tournament dates back to 1881, when the first men's event was held, and 11 years later, the women's. In even years, the women's tournament is held in Toronto and the men's in Montreal. Since 2011, the events, part of the US Open Series, have been held concurrently.

This year's WTA-1000 event in Toronto is officially called the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. The prize money is $7.4 million.

Over the years, the tournament has been won by such stars as Chris Evert, Martina Navratilova, Jennifer Capriati, Monica Seles, Serena Williams, Steffi Graf, Martina Hingis, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, and others.

Defending champion Victoria Mboko is missing this year's home tournament due to injury. In the 2025 semifinals, the Canadian defeated Elena Rybakina 1:6, 7:5, 7:6 (7:4), and in the final beat Japan's Naomi Osaka 2:6, 6:4, 6:1.