Aryna Sabalenka, the women’s No. 1 tennis player, has had a whirlwind year so far with deep runs in every grand slam event. She reached the final in both the Australian Open and French Open, and made it to the semifinals at Wimbledon.
Despite her strong performances this year, Sabalenka has struggled to secure individual titles. Unfortunately, this trend continued at the 2025 Cincinnati Open where she was defeated in the quarterfinals by Elena Rybakina in straight sets.
In the match, Rybakina dominated with her powerful serve, recording 11 aces against Sabalenka’s four. This advantage helped Rybakina secure a 6-1, 6-4 victory over the world’s No. 1 player.
This loss marks the fifth time in Rybakina’s career that she has defeated Sabalenka, with a total of 12 meetings between the two players. While Sabalenka initially had the upper hand, Rybakina has emerged as a formidable opponent with a 5-3 record in their last eight matches.
Rybakina will now face off against Iga Swiatek in the semifinals, looking to even their head-to-head record as Swiatek currently leads 5-4 in their nine previous encounters.
The upcoming match between Rybakina and Swiatek promises to be an exciting showdown as they compete for a spot in the final.