Elena Rybakina and Naomi Osaka faced off for the very first time in the quarterfinals at the National Bank Open in Toronto, and it certainly did not disappoint. Rybakina rallied from a set down to defeat Osaka 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, securing her spot in the semifinals. Following the hard-fought match, Rybakina opened up about playing the four-time Grand Slam champion.
Elena Rybakina Reveals How Practice Sessions With Naomi Osaka Shaped Her Canadian Open QF Victory
Despite having never played an official match against each other before this week, the World No. 2 noted she was already familiar with the Japanese’s heavy-hitting game.
“Well, it wasn’t very different from the practices,” Rybakina explained to the press. “She plays aggressive, and she has a very good serve. I knew what to expect since we practiced a couple of times. Overall, I feel like we knew each other already a little bit.”
However, the Kazakh was quick to add that studying an opponent before a match and actually executing a gameplan are two vastly different things. When the score actually counts, the stakes completely change the atmosphere.
“Of course, the match is not the same as practice,” she admitted. Hence, after discussing it with her coach, Rybakina devised a game plan to rely on her serving well. The 27-year-old struggled to find her rhythm at first, losing the opening set and falling behind 4-2 in the second. She was self-aware about her initial shortcomings, and she fought back to have the final laugh.
For Osaka, who was defending her runner-up points from 2025, missed opportunities in the decider were frustrating. After dominating the opening set 6-4, her control slipped away in a tense second-set tiebreak (7-5). After dropping her own serve to trail 3-4, Osaka put her racket on the court and kicked it in frustration.
Playing better, but ending up losing…
How do we solve that?
it’s what lacking to get her over the line since she came back#NaomiOsaka #NBO26 pic.twitter.com/vL8svLPjyC— SiscoEyeballs II (@naochieyes) August 12, 2026
And this is not an isolated incident. Two weeks ago, at the DC Open, Osaka’s temper flared against Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto. In a two-hour, 33-minute quarterfinal match, Osaka lost the opening set 6-4 and hurled her racket onto the court before kicking it away. However, she recovered to win that match in three sets before losing to Alexandra Eala in the semis.
Next up, Rybakina will face World No. 4 Coco Gauff, eyeing a spot in the championship match. Meanwhile, Osaka will be moving on to the Cincinnati Open, where she will open with her second-round match after getting a first-round bye as the 11th seed.
