Maya Joint scored her highest-ranked win of the WTA season on Thursday, ousting 14th-seeded Sorana Cîrstea 6-4, 6-4 in Toronto to punch her ticket to the 2026 Canadian Open third round.
How Maya Joint Overcame Cîrstea's Early First-Set Lead
Cîrstea opened strong at 3-1, refusing to concede a single point on serve. Joint answered back, though, sweeping five of the following six games. Serving for the set at 5-4, she erased a break point and cashed in on her seventh set-point chance.
The second set followed a similar rhythm, just in reverse. Joint sprinted to 3-0, only to watch Cîrstea claw even at 3-3 after fighting off four game points. But the 20-year-old Australian didn't blink. She reeled off the final three games to seal the win.
The match clocked in at 93 minutes, with Joint converting five of eight break-point chances to keep her on-court time relatively short. The result matches her best ever showing at a WTA 1000 event.
Liudmila Samsonova, ranked No. 55, now awaits her in the third round, setting up a rematch of their 2025 Wimbledon meeting.
Thursday's win is another marker of Joint's turnaround on the WTA Tour. Her upset of Serena Williams at Wimbledon this year ended an 11-match losing streak. And she's won six of nine since.
World No. 8 Mirra Andreeva advanced to the 2026 French Open semifinals with a straight-sets win over No. 18 Sorana Cîrstea on Tuesday. The 19-year-old won the match in just 56 minutes, defeating the Romanian veteran to secure her spot in the final four at Roland Garros.
Mirra Andreeva Takes Early Lead Over Sorana Cîrstea
Andreeva controlled the pace early under the closed roof of Court Philippe Chatrier, winning the opening set without dropping a game.
Losing only nine points in the first six games, the teenage star denied Cîrstea any opportunities to break back and wrapped the first set 6-0 behind consistent baseline play. However Cîrstea changed her strategy to begin the second set.
The 36-year-old broke early, holding her serve to level the score at 3-3 before Andreeva quickly regained momentum. She subsequently raised her intensity, won 12 of the final 14 points against Cîrstea, and closed out the Roland Garros match 6-0, 6-3.
The post-game stats highlighted Andreeva's efficiency.
She hit 18 winners during the match, while Cîrstea finished with just four. Andreeva also converted all six of her break point opportunities.
"I honestly didn't expect that myself," Andreeva said in her postmatch press conference. "I just found myself being very, very focused, very aggressive, going for my shots all the time. Sorana is, as I said, a very tough opponent to play against, so I'm just happy about the win today."
Andreeva Meets Marta Kostyuk in 2026 French Open Semifinal
With this latest showing at Roland Garros, Andreeva secured her 20th clay-court win of the season.
She now moves into her second career Grand Slam semifinal, battling No. 15 Marta Kostyuk for a spot in the 2026 French Open final.
A stomach virus tearing through the 2026 Madrid Open locker room claimed another victim Monday, when Coco Gauff fell to Linda Noskova 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 in the Round of 16.
Gauff battled illness just 24 hours earlier during her third-round victory over Sorana Cirstea, vomiting on court before rallying to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. The world No. 3 took a medical timeout during that match after throwing up into a courtside bin.
"I don't know how I got it done," Gauff said after defeating Cirstea. "Just dealing with a lot of trying to keep my food down. I think I got the Madrid stomach virus that's going around."
The illness forced several high-profile withdrawals at this year's Madrid Open. No. 4 Iga Świątek retired mid-match against Ann Li in the third round Saturday, citing "zero stability and zero energy." Liudmila Samsonova withdrew before facing Noskova in the third round Sunday, handing the Czech player a walkover into the Round of 16.
Madison Keys also withdrew from the tournament due to illness.
No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka appears to have avoided the virus. The defending champion rallied from a set down to defeat Japan's Naomi Osaka 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-2 in Monday's Round of 16.
Gauff withdrew from her doubles match Sunday to preserve energy for her singles clash with Noskova. Despite holding a 2-0 career record against the 13th seed, Gauff couldn't overcome the physical toll from her illness. She lost the third-set tiebreak after splitting the first two sets.
How to Watch the Madrid Open 2026
The Madrid Open runs through Saturday on Tennis Channel.
Coco Gauff defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 on Monday to reach her first Miami Open quarterfinals — and achieve a historic tennis milestone at just 22 years old.
The world No. 4 completed the career sweep of all 10 current WTA 1000 quarterfinals with the victory, with Miami previously standing as the only tournament missing from her collection.
"It feels great to finally be in the quarterfinals of this tournament," Gauff said. "It's obviously a tournament that means a lot to me, so I'm happy to finally reach this stage."
She had reached the fourth round at her home tournament three times previously — in 2022, 2024, and 2025 — but never advanced beyond the Round of 16. She broke through that barrier Monday after battling through her third consecutive three-set match.
Gauff jumped out to a 6-4, 3-1 lead before Cirstea rallied to win five straight games and force a decider. The US star bounced back immediately, racing to a 3-0 lead in the third set and closing out the match in just under two hours.
Gauff turned 22 just 10 days ago, making her one of the youngest players to reach the quarterfinals at every current WTA 1000 event.
The Florida native now sits just three semifinals away from completing a career WTA 1000 semifinal sweep, with Doha, Miami, and Canada still missing from her collection.
Gauff has already won three WTA 1000 titles in her career — Cincinnati in 2023, Beijing in 2024, and Wuhan in 2025.
How to Watch Coco Gauff at the 2026 Miami Open Quarterfinals
Gauff takes on No. 12 Belinda Bencic in the Miami Open quarterfinals tonight at 7 PM ET, live on The Tennis Channel.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka has once again merged high fashion with elite athletics, debuting a custom "jellyfish-inspired" kit during the opening rounds of the 2026 Australian Open.
The outfit, a collaboration between Nike and London-based designer Robert Wun, immediately went viral following the world No. 17's first-round victory over Croatia's Antonia Ružić.
The avant-garde walk-on look featured a turquoise and green tie-dye palette, characterized by organic, wavy ruffles designed to mimic the movement of jellyfish tentacles. The multi-piece configuration included a zip-up jacket with cascading tendrils, a pleated miniskirt layered over wide-leg trousers, and a dramatic wide-brimmed hat complete with a sheer white veil and matching parasol.
Osaka later revealed her two-year-old daughter Shai inspired the concept. While reading a marine life storybook together, Osaka noticed her daughter's interest in a jellyfish illustration. That led her to translate the visual into her 2026 tournament aesthetic.
"It felt symbolic of energy, transformation, and excitement," Osaka told reporters. She went on to describe the design as representing "the birth of something new" in both her career and journey as a mother.
The outfit also featured two delicate white butterflies — one fixed to her hat and another to her parasol. These served as a reference to the 2021 Australian Open, when a butterfly famously landed on Osaka’s face during her title-winning run.
On the court, Osaka has backed the bold style with strong performances. She secured a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Antonia Ružić in her opening match on January 20th, followed by a hard-fought 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory against Sorana Cirstea on January 22nd.
How to watch Naomi Osaka at the 2026 Australian Open
Osaka is scheduled to face Australian qualifier Maddison Inglis in the Australian Open's third round. The pair will meet early Saturday morning at 4:40 AM ET.
All 2026 Australian Open matches air live across ESPN platforms.
Naomi Osaka advanced to the third round of the 2026 Australian Open with a three-set victory over Sorana Cirstea on Thursday.
But the hard-fought win was overshadowed by a heated exchange at the net and a subsequent public apology from the former Japanese fan favorite.
After Osaka defeated the unseeded 35-year-old 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 at Margaret Court Arena, the two shared a tense handshake before Cirstea reportedly called Osaka out for her on-court conduct. The issue apparently centered on Osaka’s habit of shouting "Come on!" to celebrate points, specifically between Cirstea’s first and second serves — a move the Romanian considered both a distraction and a breach of sportsmanship.
In her immediate postmatch interview, Osaka dismissed Cirstea's complaints.
"Apparently a lot of 'come-ons' that she was angry about, but whatever," Osaka said. "I think this was her last Australian Open, so, okay, sorry she was mad about it."
However, during her subsequent press conference, Osaka apologized for her dismissive tone.
"I'm a little confused. I guess that emotions were very high for her," Osaka said. " I also want to apologize. I think the first couple of things that I said on the court were disrespectful. I don't like disrespecting people. That's not what I do."
Osaka went on to clarify that her vocal outbursts are self-motivating and not an attempt to rattle her opponent.
Cirstea, who recently announced that the 2026 season will be her last on the WTA Tour, later downplayed the incident. She called it a "five-second exchange between two players," insisting that "there was no drama."
Osaka, the No. 16 seed, will next face unseeded Australian Maddison Inglis in the third round on Friday.
How to watch Naomi Osaka at the Australian Open this week
No. 16 Naomi Osaka takes the court against Australia's Maddison Inglis this Friday (time TBA), live on ESPN.