Sabalenka tops Uchijima in WTA Toronto opener

Aryna Sabalenka, the world number one, secured a strong start to her hard court season by defeating Japanese qualifier Moyuka Uchijima in the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto. The match, held on Tuesday, saw Sabalenka triumph 6-3, 6-3, marking her 24th win in 25 hard court matches this year, with her sole loss being to Elena Rybakina in the Australian Open final.

Sabalenka expressed satisfaction with her performance, acknowledging the challenge of returning from a break during her match. She managed to hold her serve throughout the match, clinching victory in the second set with a 3-2 lead and securing the win on her second match point. Sabalenka's next opponent will be China's Zhang Shuai, who currently leads Jelena Ostapenko 6-0, 4-0 in their upcoming third round match.

In her first match since her Wimbledon setback, Poland's seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek displayed her dominance in a 6-0, 6-3 victory over Sara Bejlek. Swiatek, who slipped from third to eighth in the world rankings last year, will face Switzerland's Viktorija Golubic next. Additionally, Amanda Anisimova, Amanda Anisimova, and Elina Svitolina reached the third round, with the latter defeating Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.

Finally, Marta Kostyuk, who made it to the semi-finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, bounced back from a slow start to beat Canadian wild card Katherine Sebov 7-6 (7/4), 6-0, setting up a clash with former Australian Open champion Madison Keys.