Rybakina comes back against Osaka and meets Gauff in the semifinals of the Canadian Open

Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina staged a comeback victory against Japan's Naomi Osaka, winning 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 to advance to the semifinals of the Canadian Open. The hard-fought match saw Rybakina overcome an early deficit to secure her spot in the final four.

Osaka, the eleventh seed, took the first set convincingly. In the second set, she again gained an early break, but Rybakina rallied to force a tiebreak, which she ultimately won. The momentum shifted decisively in the third set when Rybakina saved four break points early on, holding her serve before breaking Osaka's to take control of the match.

Rybakina, the second seed and reigning Australian Open champion, will now face fourth seed Coco Gauff in the semifinals. Gauff advanced without playing after Switzerland's Belinda Bencic withdrew from their scheduled quarterfinal match due to a hip injury.

This was the first official encounter between the two Grand Slam-winning players, though they had trained together previously. Both players had expressed anticipation for the match, acknowledging each other's strengths and the competitive nature of their potential clash.