Sabalenka sent crashing out as Rybakina storms her way into the Cincinnati semifinals.

 Rybakina unleashed 11 aces in the clash, dominating with a staggering 81% success rate on her first serve.

 Mason, Ohio, Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina at the Cincinnati Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center. On August 14, 2025, in Mason, Ohio, Aryna Sabalenka returns a shot to Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina at the Cincinnati Open at Lindner Family Tennis Center. Elena Rybakina defeated defending champion Aryna Sabalenka in Cincinnati to advance to the semifinals, putting an abrupt end to Sabalenka's title defense. The Kazakh star, seeded ninth, started off strong and used her big serve and clean hitting to beat the defending champion and advance to the fourth round.

She secured her seventh career win over a top-ranked player and set up a blockbuster clash with Poland’s Iga Swiatek in a showdown of Wimbledon champions.

 Rybakina fired 11 aces throughout the match, earning an impressive 81% of points on her first serve, while saving all five break points she faced as she secured her fifth win over Sabalenka in 12 meetings.

 "The serve pleases me. "It was the key," Rybakina, the previous world number three, stated. "We’re both big hitters.  Today I served really well.  It would be completely different if Aryna did her job well. I hope to continue in this manner." Earlier, third seed Swiatek advanced to her first WTA 1000 semi-final in 15 months, beating Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 6-4.

 Kalinskaya, who had defeated Swiatek in their only previous meeting, put up a spirited fight by saving four match points, before the six-times Grand Slam winner converted her fifth opportunity on serve to seal the victory.

 "I just played my game," Swiatek said.  "For sure, it wasn’t easy.  I'm just glad I was solid and had enough force to apply pressure. Veronika Kudermetova reached her first Cincinnati semi-final by crushing Varvara Gracheva 6-1, 6-2. The Russian appears to be returning to her previous form, earning her first WTA 1000 last-four spot since 2023. In the semis, she will next play either second-seeded Coco Gauff or seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini from Italy. In the men’s draw, second seed Carlos Alcaraz survived a three-set battle against Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev, claiming a 6-3 4-6 7-5 win to reach the last four.

 The Spaniard was far from his best in the sardararticle decider, making 15 unforced errors and committing three double faults. However, he capitalized on his one match point thanks to a Rublev double fault to win his 15th Masters 1000 match in a row. "Playing someone like Andrey, when you lose focus on two or three points, it can cost you the set or the match.  Alcaraz stated, "What I'm most proud of is that I just stayed mentally strong." After securing a matchup with either third seed Alex Zverev or fifth seed Ben Shelton of the United States, he added, "It’s just accepting the moment, accepting that I am playing a third set, that it’s going to be a really tough battle, and I love that." Alcaraz, a five-time Grand Slam champion who has won 37 of his last 39 matches, reached the semifinals for the 12th time at the Masters 1000, matching the record held by Italian top seed Jannik Sinner, who will play Frenchman Terence Atmane in the other matchup in the last four.