Canada’s Gabriela Dabrowski and Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova fell just short in their opening doubles match at the National Bank Open in Toronto on Thursday, losing to the American pair of Coco Gauff and Caty McNally 3-6, 6-3, 11-9. Dabrowski, usually paired with Brazil’s Luisa Stefani, was competing without her regular partner due to Stefani’s decision to rest a sore elbow. Instead, Dabrowski teamed up with Alexandrova, the No. 16 seed in singles, for the tournament.
Despite limited experience together, the duo performed competitively against Gauff and McNally, who overcame a match point to secure the win. The match featured a lengthy one-hour rain delay and additional interruptions due to drizzle, which affected the rhythm of play. Dabrowski and Alexandrova rallied from a 5-1 deficit in the match tiebreak to earn a match point when Alexandrova hit a service winner, but the Americans ultimately prevailed after Dabrowski’s volley struck the net on the decisive point.
Dabrowski, currently ranked world No. 3 in doubles, described the match as an opportunity to work on her game rather than a contest where she had high expectations. She used the event to prepare for the upcoming U.S. Open, the season’s final Grand Slam, and has been adapting to playing more frequently on the deuce side of the court. Dabrowski anticipates reuniting with Stefani at the Cincinnati Open later this month to build momentum ahead of the major tournament.
In singles action at Sobeys Stadium, Alexandrova advanced to the fourth round with a three-set victory over Australia’s Talia Gibson, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3. Joining her in the Round of 16 were seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland, who defeated Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 6-2, 6-1, and third-seeded American Jessica Pegula, who overcame Kamilla Rakhimova of Uzbekistan 6-4, 6-0. Pegula noted that weather disruptions, including three separate warm-ups due to rain delays, posed a particular challenge.
Additional singles results saw No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider beat fellow Russian and No. 17 seed Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-3, while 10th-seeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk defeated 19th-seeded American Madison Keys 6-3, 6-1. In doubles, Shnaider and Belgium’s Elise Mertens held a 6-1, 3-1 lead over Canadian sisters Leylah and Bianca Fernandez when rain again halted play. Top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus led China’s Shuai Zhang 4-2 before play was suspended.
Leylah Fernandez remains the last Canadian in the singles draw and was scheduled to face fifth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia on Friday afternoon. The tournament continues to navigate sporadic weather interruptions as players advance toward the later stages.