Aryna Sabalenka suffers shock QF exit after being knocked out by world number 132

Aryna Sabalenka is out of the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto after she was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Amanda Anisimova, who won 6-4 6-2 in less than an hour and a half of play.

After returning from a shoulder injury to a semifinal loss last week in Washington, Sabalenka came to Toronto hoping to improve her game, as it was clear she wasn’t playing her best tennis in DC. But after managing to get through her first two matches with relative routine, the two-time Grand Slam champion had no answer for Anisimova on Saturday.

Throughout the match, Anisimova went for her shots and never gave up on Sabalenka. This was especially evident in the second set after the American completed her victory with a big run and set up a semi-final against eighth-seeded Emma Navarro in style.

How did Anisimova send Sabalenka home?

At the start of the first set, Sabalenka put Anisimova under pressure, but the American managed to survive those moments after she saved two break points in the third game and three more two games later.

After a couple of saved break points, Anisimova also got her first break point of the match in the eighth game – but failed to convert it. However, the American earned another in the tenth game – the game in which Sabalenka served to stay in the first set – and this time realized the opener.

Trailing a set, Sabalenka Anisimova broke to love in the third game of the second set. At that point, it looked like the Belarusian former world number 1 was finally starting to play better and that it was the beginning of a major comeback.

Instead, Anisimova came back impressively, claiming three straight breaks and winning the next five games to overturn an early deficit in the second set and complete the job in three sets.