World No. 1 seed Coco Gauff suffered a shock exit at the Canadian Open, falling to Canadian teenager and tournament surprise Victoria Mboko 6-1, 6-4 in the round of 16. Meanwhile, in the men’s draw at the Toronto Masters 1000, Russia’s Karen Khachanov defeated world No. 13 Casper Ruud of Norway 6-4, 7-5 in their last-16 clash.
These high-profile eliminations further open the tournament to emerging talent, following prior withdrawals of top players including Aryna Sabalenka, Jannik Sinner, and Carlos Alcaraz.
The 18-year-old qualifier Mboko saved all four break points she faced and broke world No. 2 Gauff three times, sealing a stunning victory in just 62 minutes. Gauff, who had committed 37 double faults across her first two matches, was overwhelmed by the Canadian teen, who claimed the opening set in 25 minutes.
Ranked world No. 85, Mboko became the youngest Canadian to defeat a No. 1 seed at the Canadian Open and the youngest to reach the tournament’s quarterfinals since Helen Kelesi in 1987. In her maiden WTA 1000 quarterfinal, Mboko will face China’s Zhu Lin or Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro; their match was suspended due to rain with Zhu leading 2-0 in the first set.
In Toronto, the 29-year-old Khachanov (world No. 16) secured his first career win over Ruud after two prior losses, advancing to his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal of the season. He will next meet American Alex Michelsen (20, world No. 34), who earlier defeated compatriot Learner Tien (19, world No. 61) 6-3, 6-3.
Elsewhere, Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina (26, world No. 12) overcame service struggles (nine double faults) to defeat Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska 5-7, 6-2, 7-5. The 2022 Wimbledon champion will face another Ukrainian, Marta Kostyuk (23, world No. 28), in the quarterfinals. Kostyuk advanced by beating American McCartney Kessler (26, world No. 32) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3.