Led by Pegula, Americans make history in Toronto quarterfinals

There are currently 14 Americans ranked among the Hologic WTA Tour’s Top 100 and Amanda Anisimova isn’t one of them. That will change Monday when the 22-year-old, riding a torrid streak, will return to that enviable and elite club — achieving her overriding goal for the year.

The only issue? With three American Top 10 players and five in the Top 15, Anisimova didn’t come close to making the USA’s Olympic team. As she watched the action from Paris, she would see players from other countries and say to herself, “Wait, I’m ranked higher than her.”

Anisimova advanced to Saturday’s quarterfinals at the National Bank Open in Toronto when No.10 seed Anna Kalinskaya retired with an injury after dropping the first set 6-2.

“That kind of sucks,” Anisimova said of missing out on the Olympics on Friday, “but it also makes me proud of my country. There’s a lot of American top players that are playing amazing right now. It’s a super-strong team that we have.”

Across the border, Americans are dominating this week at the WTA 1000 event in Canada. There were seven players from the United States remaining in the draw when they played Friday’s Round of 16. Five of them advanced to the quarterfinals — and one of them wasn’t No.1 seed Coco Gauff.

With Anisimova, Jessica Pegula, Taylor Townsend, Emma Navarro and Peyton Stearns, the Canadian Open features the most players competing for the United States in the quarterfinals of a WTA 1000 event since the format was introduced in 2009.

The only time this century there were more American players at any Hologic WTA Tour quarterfinal stage was at Stanford 2001 — Meghann Shaughnessy, Venus Williams, Chanda Rubin, Monica Seles, Lilia Osterloh and Lindsay Davenport.

Two of these quarters are All-American matchups; the last time that happened at a WTA event was in 2016, again at Stanford. Here’s a quick look at Saturday’s tantalizing showdowns:

No.3 Jessica Pegula vs. Peyton Stearns

Pegula missed two months due to injury earlier this season, but has rallied nicely, winning the title on grass in Berlin and reaching the quarters here. She defeated qualifier Ashlyn Krueger 6-2, 6-4 on Friday.

Her first match was a 7-5, 6-4 result over Karolina Pliskova. Pegula, it’s worth noting, has compiled a tidy 32-13 career record against fellow Americans.

Meanwhile, Stearns scored a win via retirement over No. 12 Victoria Azarenka with the score 6-4, 4-2. She prevailed in her previous match over Madison Keys via retirement. With a win, Stearns will climb to a career-high ranking.

Head-to-head: 1-0, Pegula — a 2023 6-3, 6-4 win in Washington, D.C. in the round of 16.

No.8 Emma Navarro vs. Taylor Townsend

Navarro, 23, reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, beating Gauff, Diana Shnaider and Naomi Osaka in the process, and is ranked a career-high No.15. This time last year, she was sitting at No.54.

She defeated No.11 Marta Kostyuk 7-5, 7-5 for her 37th match win so far this year. Only Iga Swiatek, Elena Rybakina, Gauff and Danielle Collins have more. In her tournament debut, Navarro has matched her best WTA 1000 effort, achieved earlier this year at Indian Wells.

Townsend, a 6-2, 6-1 winner over No.4 Jelena Ostapenko, has never been this far in a WTA 100 event. She’s coming off a run to the round of 16 in Washington, D.C.

Head-to-head: Townsend won the only match they’ve played, winning as the No.2 seed in straight sets at an ITF 100K in 2019 in Charleston.

No.2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. Amanda Anisimova

In the late-night match, Sabalenka was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Katie Boulter, recording her fourth win in as many matches against the Great Britain player. After an extended break due to a shoulder injury, Sabalenka hasn’t dropped a set in two matches.

Since the beginning of 2020, Sabalenka reaches a 17th WTA 1000 quarterfinal, equaling Swiatek for the most at WTA 1000 events in that time. Additionally, Sabalenka has advanced to the quarterfinals at each of the 11 current locations for WTA 1000 events.

Anisimova defeated No.10 Anna Kalinskaya when she retired after losing the first set 6-2.

Head-to-head: Anisimova, 4-2. After dropping the first four meetings, Sabalenka has won the past two, most recently at this year’s Australian Open, 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 16, on her way to a second consecutive title.

No.6 Liudmila Samsonova vs. No.14 Diana Shnaider

Shnaider scored her first-ever Top 10 win, the surprise of the tournament, knocking off No.1 seed Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-1. The 20-year-old is through to the first WTA 1000 quarterfinal of her burgeoning career.

In her third appearance at the Rogers Cup, Samsonova was a 6-2, 6-4 winner over Elise Mertens. Last year she advanced to the finals in Montreal before losing to Pegula. She has won three hard-court titles — in Tokyo, Cleveland, and Washington D.C. — all in 2022.

Head-to-head: 1-0, Shnaider — a 6-1, 6-3 win in the second round at this year’s WTA 1000 in Rome.