Resurgent Amanda Anisimova stuns Aryna Sabalenka in Toronto to reach biggest semifinal since 2019

Consider Amanda Anisimova well and truly back. The resurgent American stunned No.. 2 Aryna Sabalenka in Saturday's quarterfinals at the National Bank Open in Toronto 6-4, 6-2 to reach a WTA 1000-level semifinal for the first time.

The 22-year-old, who took a sabbatical from the tour in 2023 to focus on her mental health, saved all five break points she faced in a tight first set before winning back-to-back games to pocket it—a performance that frustrated Sabalenka enough to smash her racquet at the end of the set. After losing serve for the first time in the match at 1-1 in the second set, Anisimova responded by winning five consecutive games to seal victory.

She is now 5-2 vs. Sabalenka all-time dating back to their first meeting at the 2019 Australian Open. She had lost their last two matches, including 6-3, 6-2 in January in the fourth round of the Australian Open where Sabalenka won her second Grand Slam title. Anisimova last beat a Top 10 player in the summer of 2022.

"She's an amazing player, so it's always really tough playing against her. I played her earlier this year at the Australian Open when she was on fire ... but I went in with a little bit of a different game plan, and I was really happy with how I was able to execute that today," Anisimova said afterwards.

"I've had a lot of matches in the last couple of weeks, and it's honestly been so nice just being able to play day after day ... I'm just really happy to be out here."

Anisimova reached WTA 1000-level quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome in 2022, but lost them both. By reaching the final four in Canada, she's through to her biggest semifinal since her breakthrough at Roland Garros in 2019, where she beat both Sabalenka and defending champion Simona Halep.

The former world No. 21 came into the tournament ranked No. 132, but entered the main draw on a protected ranking as a result of her hiatus. She will cut her ranking by at least half by virtue of her performance in this week, and is projected to return to the Top 70 no matter her result in the semifinals.

An American is guaranteed to reach the final in Canada for the second year in a row, as Anisimova will next face No.8 seed Emma Navarro, who is also contesting her first WTA 1000 semifinal. Navarro defeated lucky loser Taylor Townsend 6-3, 7-6(5) in Saturday's first quarterfinal.