Bejlek rallies to beat Sabalenka 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 in Cincinnati fourth round

Aryna Sabalenka was beaten by Sara Bejlek in the fourth round at the Cincinnati Open on 20 August 2026, losing 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 after surrendering late leads in both sets. The defeat dealt another blow to Sabalenka's preparations for her US Open title defence.

Sabalenka, the Belarusian top seed, has reached just one semi-final since winning the "Sunshine Double" at Indian Wells and Miami in March, that lone semi-final ending in a loss to Jessica Pegula in Berlin. Her position as world number one is under threat, with Elena Rybakina able to replace her at the top of the rankings if Rybakina reaches the Cincinnati final. The 28-year-old is bidding to become the first woman to win three successive US Open titles since Serena Williams in 2014, with the New York major due to begin on Sunday, 30 August. Her build-up included early losses in both Cincinnati and Toronto.

The Belarusian was 5-1 up in a first-set tiebreak and led 4-1 in the second before Czech Bejlek mounted a comeback on both occasions to complete the victory 7-6 (9-7) 6-4. The match outcome followed the momentum shifts in the tiebreak and a decisive run in the second set by Bejlek. The result eliminated Sabalenka from the Cincinnati tournament at the fourth-round stage.

Bejlek, ranked 35th in the world and 20 years old, recorded her first victory over a top-10 opponent and reached a WTA 1000 quarter-final for the first time. "I totally lost my words. I just keep believing and that was the key today," said the 20-year-old, who won the Abu Dhabi hard court title in February as a qualifier. "She played amazing tennis and I was just believing, keep fighting and I was just trying my best and that's it."

Bejlek will face former Australian Open champion Madison Keys in the last eight. In the men's event, American Tommy Paul saved a match point on his way to defeating top seed Alexander Zverev; Zverev won the first set and trailed 3-4 in the second before the match was suspended for 90 minutes because of rain.

The French Open champion was unable to convert a match point at 6-5 in the second-set tie-break and Paul forced a decider, with Zverev leading 4-2 in the third before the world number 24 won four straight games to complete a 4-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 victory. Paul's win sets up a quarter-final against Italy's Flavio Cobolli, while Bejlek progresses to meet Keys in the Cincinnati last eight.