The defending champion ARYNA Sabalenka’s title defense suddenly ended in Cincinnati when Elena Rybakina produced a strong performance to reach the semi -finals.
The ninth Seedskasakh star dominated right from the start using her great serving and clean frame to overwhelm the defense champion and book her place in the last four.
She secured her seventh career victory over a top-ranked player and created a blockbuster clash with Poland’s Iga Swatek in a showdown of the Wimbledon Champions.
Rybakina fired 11 aces throughout the match and earned an impressive 81% of points on her first serving while saving all five break points she was facing when she secured her fifth win over Sabalenka at 12 meetings.
“I am happy with the serving. It was the key,” formerly the world’s number three Rybakina said.
“We are both big men. Today I served really well. If ARYNA earns well, it’s completely different. Hopefully I’ll continue like that.”
Previously, the third seed Swatek moved on to his first WTA 1000 semi-final in 15 months and beat Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 6-4.
Kalinskaya, who had defeated Swatek at their only previous meeting, set a lively match by saving four match points before the six-times Grand Slam winner converted his fifth opportunity to serve to seal the victory.
“I just played my game,” said Swatek. “It was definitely not easy. Just glad I was solid and had the intensity to apply pressure.”
Veronika KuddeMetova previously breezeed Varvara Gracheva 6-1 6-2 to reach her first Cincinnati semi-final. The Russian seems to be back to the form that once led her into the top 10 and earned her first WTA 1000 last four place since 2023.
She next stand with either other seed Coco Gauff or seventh seeded Italian Jasmin Paolini in Semis.
In men’s draw, Second Seed Carlos Alcaraz survived a three-set match against Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev and claimed a 6-3 4-6 7-5 win to reach the last four.
The spanish was far from his best and made 15 unparalleled mistakes and three double errors in the decision, but exploited his lonely match points, thanks to a Rublev Double Fault, to secure his 15th consecutive Masters 1000 -victory.
“To play someone like Andrey when you lose focus on two or three points, it can cost you the set or the match. I just stayed strong mentally, and that’s what I’m most proud of,” Alcaraz said.
“It’s just accepting the moment and accepting that I’m playing a third set, it’s going to be a really tough fight, and I love that,” he added after creating a showdown with either third seed Alex Zverev or American fifth seed leg shelton.
Five times Grand Slam Master Alcaraz, winner of 37 of his last 39 games, went on to his 12th Masters 1000 semi, which corresponds to the mark by Italian top seed Jannik Sinner, who faces the Frenchman Terence Atmane in the second last-four clash.
