By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, August 18, 2026
Photograph credit score: Nationwide Financial institution Open Fb
Halfway by means of the opening set, Aryna Sabalenka glanced on the health tracker on her wrist.
A pointy Sabalenka raced into the Cincinnati fourth spherical as if working on a stopwatch.
World No. 1 Sabalenka wanted simply 54 minutes in demolishing Wang Xinyu 6-1, 6-3 to roll into the Cincinnati Open spherical of 16.
It was Sabalenka’s fiftieth WTA 1000 match win because the world’s top-ranked participant. Sabalenka joins Serena Williams (104) and Iga Swiatek (58) because the third girl with 50+ WTA 1000 match wins as world No. 1.
Reigning US Open champion Sabalenka overwhelmed the world No. 36 with the tempo and depth of her drives. Sabalenka drilled 17 winners towards solely 5 unforced errors.
The highly effective Belarusian served 60 % and received 14 of her 15 second-serve factors.
The 2024 Cincinnati champion Sabalenka improved to 40-7 on the season as she goals to finish a six-tournament title drought and declare a twenty fifth profession championship within the Queen Metropolis.
4-time Grand Slam champion Sabalenka will face Sara Bejlek for a quarterfinal spot.
Earlier, Bejlek rallied for a 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over Sixteenth-seeded Ekaterina Alexandrova, who upset Sabalenka within the Toronto spherical of 16
