Aryna Sabalenka is through to the round of 32 at the Madrid Open after beating Sorana Cirstea 6-4 6-3 on Thursday.

It was an ominous start for Cirstea, being broken to love in the opening game, but she stuck with second seed Sabalenka and broke back, before ultimately being pipped to the first set by the impressive Belarusian.

The key was on break points, with Sabalenka claiming all five that she won against the Cirstea serve, while saving six of eight on her own as she ultimately eased to victory.

Sabalenka now has 26 wins on clay in the WTA since 2021, with only Ons Jabeur (37), Iga Swiatek (34), Paula Badosa (31) and Coco Gauff (28) having more during this time.

Gauff also advanced after a routine 6-4 6-1 win over Irene Burillo Escorihuela, making the sixth seed in Madrid the first player to win 35 WTA-1000 main draw matches as a teenager since 2009.

Ninth seed Maria Sakkari defeated Arantxa Rus 6-4 6-4 and fifth seed Caroline Garcia also had few problems against Yulia Putintseva, winning 6-3 6-4.

However, it was not a good day for 10th seed Petra Kvitova, who was beaten 7-6 (11-9) 6-1 by Jule Niemeier, while 13th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia also lost, 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 to Mirra Andreeva and 20th seed Donna Vekic was eliminated in straight-sets by Rebeka Masarova.

Jelena Ostapenko took just 61 minutes to get past Linda Fruhvirtova 6-0 6-3, and will face 14th seed Liudmila Samsonova next, who did not take much longer to see off Maryna Zanevska 6-2 6-3.

There were also wins for Elise Mertens, Badosa, Camila Osorio, Shelby Rogers, Mayar Sherif, Magda Linette and Irina-Camelia Begu.

Former world number three Elina Svitolina's first game back on the WTA Tour in more than 12 months ended in a near three-hour defeat to Yulia Putintseva in the Charleston Open first round on Monday.

Svitolina, 28, had been off the tour for a combination of injury and pregnancy, but was back in action for the first time since giving birth to her and male tennis player Gael Monfils' daughter Skai in October.

The Ukrainian, who reached both the Wimbledon and US Open semi-finals in 2019, won the first set after rallying back from 3-1 down in a tie-break

But the Kazakh world number 47 responded and prevailed 6-7 (3-7) 6-2 6-4 in two hours and 48 minutes, with Putintseva sapping her opponent's energy with frequent drop shots.

Former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin was on track for victory in a topsy-turvy clash with Aliaksandra Sasnovich before rain intervened, forcing it to be re-scheduled for Tuesday with the American leading 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 3-0.

World number 50 Sloane Stephens fought back after an early scare to beat qualifier Louisa Chirico 3-6 6-1 6-2, while Alize Cornet breezed past Fiona Crawley 6-0 6-2.

Jil Teichman was one of three seeds to lose in the first round, going down 6-2 3-6 6-2 to 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova.

Ukrainian 11th seed Anhelina Kalinina lost 7-6 (8-6) 6-4 to Anna Kalinskaya, while 10th seed Zhang Shuai was beaten 6-4 1-6 6-3 by Julia Grabher.

Eugenie Bouchard returned for the first time since the 2023 Australian Open due to injury with a win over Ylena In-Albon 6-3 6-2 at the Copa Colsanitas in Bogota.

Third seed Nuria Parrizas Diaz was knocked out by Briton Francesca Jones, who is ranked 817th in the world, 7-6 (7-3) 6-1 in a major shock.

Camila Giorgi progressed into the Miami Open second round despite blowing a 5-0 third-set lead as she edged past veteran Kaia Kanepi in the equal-longest main draw match of the year on Tuesday.

The Italian world number 44, who won February's Merida Open, outlasted the Estonian 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4) in three hours and 32 minutes.

The length was equal to the Erika Andreeva-Harriet Dart first-round match at the ATX Open last month for the longest this WTA season.

But Giorgi could have had an earlier finish, leading 5-0 in the decider before Kanepi hit back by winning the next five games, only for the Italian to rally in the tie-break, converting her fourth match point.

Giorgi, who blew match points at 5-3 and 5-4, will take on three-time Miami Open winner and 2023 Australian Open semi-finalist Victoria Azarenka in the second round.

Russian 34-year-old Evgeniya Rodina produced the upset of the day's play, beating 37th-ranked Bernarda Pera 6-3 6-4 in 73 minutes and will take on 20th seed Magda Linette in the second round.

Rodina is currently ranked 369th in the world having returned to the WTA Tour midway through last season after a two-year absence, having reached a career-high 67th in May 2019.

World number 39 Elise Mertens eased into the second round with a 6-1 6-4 win over USA's Alycia Parks, setting up a second-round clash with eighth seed Daria Kasatkina.

World number 43 Yulia Putintseva bowed out prematurely, going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 to Canada's Rebecca Marino, who advanced to face sixth seed Coco Gauff.

Teenager Linda Fruhvirtova, ranked 50th in the world, also suffered a shock loss, beaten 6-2 4-6 6-4 by 172nd-ranked Canadian qualifier Katherine Sebov, while Laura Siegemund won 6-3 6-4 over 52nd-ranked Mayar Sherif

Katerina Siniakova withdrew due to injury despite winning the first set against USA's Claire Liu, with scores at 6-3 3-3. Liu's prize is a second-round meeting with top seed and reigning champion Iga Swiatek.

Bianca Andreescu fell to Yulia Putintseva in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Open after making a swift return to action.

Andreescu, who has not won a title since her 2019 US Open success, looked to have returned to form at last week's Thailand Open, only to suffer an injury that forced her to quit her semi-final against Lesia Tsurenko while trailing in the second set.

The Canadian did not alter her schedule, however, and was back out on court to face Putintseva on Tuesday.

Despite twice leading by a break in the opening set, there was no repeat run to the latter stages for Andreescu, who went down 7-6 (7-2) 6-2.

"I think the first set was a really physical set, we played really, really tough rallies," Putintseva said. "I was feeling a little bit more confident in the second set."

Andreescu's compatriot Leylah Fernandez was also eliminated, losing to Shelby Rogers, but both seeds in action – Beatriz Haddad Maia and Liudmila Samsonova – advanced, along with Barbora Krejcikova and Karolina Pliskova.

At the Linz Open, top seed Maria Sakkari headed through with a 6-1 7-6 (8-6) defeat of Nuria Parrizas-Diaz, but number two seed Ekaterina Alexandrova went down to Rebeka Masarova in three sets.

Heather Watson stunned second seed Yulia Putintseva at the Thailand Open as the British player scored an impressive first-round win.

The 30-year-old Watson lost in qualifying for the recent Australian Open, having made the singles main draw for 11 consecutive years, but she is already beginning to make up for the Melbourne disappointment.

Kazakh Putintseva is ranked 44th in the world, while Watson has slipped to 160th, but the Guernsey native has been as high as 38th in her career and won four titles on the WTA Tour.

She showed there is still a hunger to succeed, edging a tight contest 5-7 6-4 7-5 (7-5) to make Putintseva the biggest early casualty.

Top seed Bianca Andreescu had no such trouble against Watson's compatriot Harriet Dart, as the Canadian went through a 6-3 6-4 winner.

Czech 17-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova, seeded eighth and at a career-high 51st in the WTA rankings, overwhelmed American veteran Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-3 6-1.

Fellow seeds Marta Kostyuk, Anna Kalinskaya and Tatjana Maria also came through their opening tests at the tournament in Hua Hin.

At the Lyon Open, French top seed Caroline Garcia fended off Czech Tereza Martincova 6-4 7-6 (7-4) in round one, delighting a home crowd.

Champion at the WTA Finals at the end of last season, Garcia surprisingly lost in round four of the Australian Open to unseeded Pole Magda Linette, who went on a fairy tale run to the semi-finals.

Garcia said of Tuesday's win over Martincova: "It was a tough match. She's a great player. She's already played great battles against top players, and it's a first round, so you really never know what is going to happen."

Second seed Zhang Shuai beat American Madison Brengle 6-3 6-2, but eighth seed Anna Blinkova bowed out, retiring when 4-0 behind in a deciding set against fellow Russian Erika Andreeva.

Veronika Kudermetova saved five match points as she beat Danielle Collins to reach the Adelaide International 2 semi-finals before Belinda Bencic knocked Caroline Garcia out.

Sixth seed Kudermetova showed great defiance to defeat American Collins 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 on Thursday.

Kudermetova fended off five match points when serving to stay in the tournament at 6-5 down in the second set and duly forced a tie-break.

Collins, runner-up to Ash Barty in the Australian Open final last year, took a 3-0 lead in the breaker, but back came her Russian opponent to level the match.

The world number nine dominated the deciding set to seal a meeting with Bencic in the last four.

Eighth seed Bencic got the better of WTA Finals champion Garcia 6-2 3-6 6-4.

Garcia broke straight back after going 3-1 down in the final set, but Bencic broke for the fourth time in the match to go through.

Paula Badosa and Daria Kasatkina will contest the other semi-final after beating Beatriz Haddad Maia and Petra Kvitova respectively. 

Elisabetta Cocciaretto saved two match points as she came from a set down to beat Bernarda Pera 5-7 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 in the quarter-finals of the Hobart International. 

The 21-year-old Italian will now face 2020 Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin, who also stormed back to defeat Anhelina Kalinina 4-6 6-3 6-1.

Lauren Davis and Anna Blinkova will do battle in the other semi-final following wins over Wang Xinyu and Yulia Putintseva respectively. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas opened his United Cup campaign with a comeback victory over Grigor Dimitrov in Perth.

ATP world number four Tsitsipas is one of the headline names in action at the event, which is acting as a warm-up tournament for the Australian Open.

After going a set down to his Bulgarian opponent in his first game of the inaugural tournament, Tsitsipas hit back with a strong second set before holding his nerve in a tense tie-break in the decider, securing a 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-4) win.

Tsitsipas's team-mate Despina Papamichail continued Greece's strong start, also coming from a set down to beat Isabella Shinikova 3-6 6-4 6-1.

Great Britain opened with a pair of victories, Cameron Norrie and Katie Swan earning straight sets triumphs over their Australian counterparts in Sydney.

Norrie, who was initially set to play Nick Kyrgios prior to the Wimbledon finalist's withdrawal due to an ankle injury, eased to a 6-3 6-3 victory over Alex De Minaur, while Swan defeated Zoe Hives. 

The United States are also taking a 100 per cent record into day two of the tournament, after Taylor Fritz and Madison Keys overcame Jiri Lehecka and Marie Bouzkova respectively, while France pair Arthur Rinderknech and Alize Cornet got off to winning starts against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo and Maria Lourdes Carle.

In Brisbane, Swiss hope Belinda Bencic secured a 7-6 (7-0) triumph over Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan and Beatriz Haddad Maia, the Brazilian world number 15, dispatched Italy's Martina Trevisan 6-2 6-0.

Two-time major winner Simona Halep continues to find form ahead of the upcoming US Open with a 6-4 7-6 (7-2) victory over Coco Gauff clinching her spot in the Canadian Open semi-finals.

Halep defeated 10th seed Gauff, who had beaten Naomi Osaka, Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka this week, in one hour and 47 minutes.

The Romanian 15th seed was broken five times and sent down eight double faults, but found the edge with speed, finesse and power.

The win means Halep has won the third most matches (36-10) on the WTA Tour this season, behind only top-ranked Iga Swiatek (49) and Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeir (37).

Halep's improved form comes after she teamed up with Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou in April following a difficult 2021 season.

"Before I met him I was super down with my motivation," Halep told reporters. "I couldn't really work, keep working. I was almost done with tennis. He brought this fire back and the motivation. He trusted that I still can play good tennis and he transferred this to me."

The 2018 French Open and 2019 Wimbledon champion added: "Physically I'm good. Mentally I'm good, so I think it's all positive."

Halep, who won the Canadian Open in 2018, has reached the semi-finals for the fifth time in her career where she will take on seventh seed Jessica Pegula.

Pegula got past Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-3 in one hour and 21 minutes. Qualifying for the last four at the Canadian Open for the second straight year.

Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia maintained her Canadian Open run, having ousted Swiatek in the third round and local favourite Leylah Fernandez in the second, with a 2-6 6-3 6-3 victory over Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Belinda Bencic in two hours and 11 minutes.

Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian to reach the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 tournament. She will face Karolina Pliskova in the semi-finals after the Czech 14th seed beat Qinwen Zheng 4-6 6-4 6-4.

Second seed Yulia Putintseva was eliminated from the Palermo Ladies Open at the quarter-final stage by Diane Parry on Thursday.

Putintseva was the strong favourite to overcome world number 86 Parry, but it was the latter who prevailed 6-3 6-4 to reach her first tour-level quarter-final.

Caroline Garcia also advanced through after recovering from a heavy first-set loss to overcome Elisabetta Cocciaretto 0-6 6-3 6-4.

Home hope Lucia Bronzetti awaits in the final eight following a 6-1 6-3 win over Elina Avanesyan, while Nuria Parrizas-Diaz beat Julia Grabher 6-2 6-4 in the day's other match.

At the Hamburg European Open, in-form Bernarda Pera beat Katerina Siniakova 6-3 6-1 to make it 10 wins in a row without dropping a set.

Pera is through to her second semi-final in a row, where she will take on Maryna Zanevska, who saw off Aliaksandra Sasnovich in straight sets for a second career top-50 victory.

Top seed Anett Kontaveit advanced after Andrea Petkovic withdrew injured when 6-0 2-0 down, but Barbora Krejcikova was on the end of a 6-1 6-3 upset against Anastasia Potapova.

Anett Kontaveit and Barbora Krejcikova both breezed through at the Hamburg European Open, while Yulia Putintseva eased into the Palermo Ladies Open second round.

Top seed Kontaveit overcame world number 61 Irina Bara in straight sets in her first-round clash and third favourite Krejcikova followed suit in her second-round match against Poland's Magdalena Frech.

Kontaveit will meet Sweden's Rebecca Peterson in the next round as she looks to set up a quarter-final meeting in Germany with eighth seed Andrea Petkovic, who defeated Misaki Doi 6-4 6-3 on Tuesday.

There was no such luck for ninth seed Elena Gabriela Ruse, though, after she lost 6-0 6-4 to last week's Budapest Grand Prix winner Bernarda Pera.

Swiss Joanne Zuger will next be the next challenge for Pera as she aims to reach a quarter-final clash against Katerina Siniakova, who triumphed 6-1 6-1 over Brazil's Laura Pigossi.

Putintseva is ranked as the second favourite in Italy and progressed with ease from her first-round clash against world number 147 Jaimee Fourlis, winning 6-3 6-1.

Seventh seed Anna Bondar had little difficulty beating Clara Burel 6-4 6-4, though Caroline Garcia and Nuria Parrizas Diaz faced more difficult tasks in their respective openers.

France's Garcia, the fifth favourite in Palermo, responded to a first-set scare to defeat compatriot Chloe Paquet, while eighth seed Parrizas Diaz also lost her opening set before downing Asia Muhammad.

Reigning champion Yulia Putintseva's Budapest Grand Prix title defence came to a disappointing end after she was beaten in the semi-final in straight sets by Aleksandra Krunic.

The Kazakh Putintseva struggled to get going, failing to convert any of her seven break points, as the Serbian Krunic broke her serve four times en route to a 6-2 6-2 win.

Bernarda Pera will await Krunic in the final in Hungary, after her 6-3 6-4 victory over Anna Bondar.

Bondar raced out to an early 3-0 lead in the first set, but Pera rattled off six games in a row to take the opener.

The Croatian-born American then won the first three games of the second set, before overcoming a desperate late Bondar charge to break her at 5-4 and finish things off.

Sunday's final will be the third meeting between Krunic and Pera with the latter winning both of the previous contests, firstly in the quarter-finals of the Guangzhou Open in 2018 and then in Moscow in 2021.

At the Ladies Open Lausanne, qualifier Olga Danilovic cruised through to the final with a 6-3 6-2 victory over Russian Anastasia Potapova.

Danilovic won her first WTA Tour singles event in Moscow in 2018, overcoming Potapova after three sets.

And the world number 124 was victorious against Potapova once more in Switzerland to seal her place in her second WTA Tour singles final.

The Serbian 21-year-old will meet Petra Martic in the decider on Sunday after Martic overcame sixth seed Caroline Garcia 6-4 1-6 6-3.

Neither player had dropped a set on their way to the semi-finals, but things at Lausanne were tied up at one set each after two.

Garcia had won all three of her previous meetings with Martic, but the Croatian's two crucial breaks of serve in the final set were telling, as she held her nerve to reach the final against Danilovic.

Yulia Putintseva recovered from a set behind to overcome Laura Pigossi and keep her Budapest Grand Prix title defence alive.

The Kazakh player took time to get going but eventually prevailed 4-6 6-1 6-2 against her Brazilian opponent in the last-16 clash to make it seven wins in a row in the competition.

While the third seed was able to bounce back, there was no such luck for Chinese sixth seed Zhang Shuai as she was soundly beaten 6-1 6-0 by Serbian Aleksandra Krunic.

China's Wang Xiyu awaits Krunic in the quarter-finals after beating Romanian Ana Bogdan 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (12-10) in a match lasting two hours and 43 minutes.

Elisabetta Cocciaretto was also victorious on Thursday, the Italian seeing off Wimbledon doubles champion Katerina Siniakova 7-5 4-6 7-5 in the final match of the day.

At the Ladies Open Lausanne, surprise Wimbledon singles quarter-finalist Jule Niemeier made it through to the last eight of another tournament, enjoying a 6-4 6-2 triumph against fellow German Eva Lys.

Caroline Garcia made it through to her fourth quarter-final of the year with a 6-1 6-4 win over French compatriot Leolia Jeanjean.

Qualifier Olga Danilovic saved a match point before going on to beat Anna Kalinskaya 6-3 3-6 7-5, while Belinda Bencic advanced from an all-Swiss battle with a 6-3 6-4 win over Susan Bandecchi.

Garbine Muguruza saw her Wimbledon preparations take a hit as she fell to a last-16 defeat at the Eastbourne International on Wednesday. 

World number 26 Camila Giorgi battled from a break down in both sets to beat fifth seed Muguruza 7-5 6-3 in an hour and 53 minutes. 

That meant 12th seed Giorgi made her second straight quarter-final, following a last-eight appearance in Birmingham, and will next face Viktoriya Tomova, who defeated Kirsten Flipkens 3-6 6-3 6-4. 

Jil Teichmann, the 10th seed at the tournament, was a notable second-round elimination, falling to a 7-6 (9-7) 4-6 6-3 defeat to Briton Harriet Dart, who later triumphed 6-4 2-6 6-4 over Marta Kostyuk. 

Dart's fellow Briton Katie Boulter stunned last year's Wimbledon runner-up Karolina Pliskova in the second round but had no such luck against Petra Kvitova, losing 5-7 6-0 7-5. 

Beatriz Haddad Maia, the winner at the Birmingham Open last week, extended to a 12-match winning streak with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Jodie Burrage. 

Jelena Ostapenko also progressed after Madison Keys retired when 6-3 down and will next face Anhelina Kalinina, who battled to a 6-3 2-6 6-3 win over 16th seed Yulia Putintseva. 

While seeds fell at Eastbourne, there were not as many shocks at the Bad Homburg Open, where Angelique Kerber defeated Lucia Bronzetti 6-2 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals. 

Fourth seed Simona Halep also made the last eight with 6-0 6-3 victory over Tamara Zidansek and will meet Amanda Anisimova after she won an All-American match against Ann Li 6-0 6-2. 

Alize Cornet downed Tatjana Maria 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to tee up a clash with Kerber, while Bianca Andreescu will meet top seed Daria Kasatkina after defeating Katie Swan 6-4 6-4. 

World number one Iga Swiatek beat Victoria Azarenka 6-4 6-1 to progress to the quarter-finals of the Internazionali d'Italia in Rome on Thursday. 

Swiatek, who became the first female player to win 25 consecutive matches since Serena Williams in 2015, will face Bianca Andreescu in the last eight after she eased past Petra Martic 6-4 6-4.

"I didn't start well, and everybody could see that," Swiatek told reporters. "I'm really happy with the way I reacted and how I improved in the first set.

"Also how different the second set looked to the first one because I could really reset and really change the way I played. That's the most positive thing for me."

There was a shock in the final game of the day, though, as Daria Kasatkina dumped out number two seed Paula Badosa 6-4 6-4. 

Third seed Aryna Sabalenka sealed a third straight win over Jessica Pegula, easing to a 6-1 6-4 victory, while fourth seed Maria Sakkari defeated Coco Gauff 6-4 7-5.

Seventh seed Danielle Collins was knocked out by unseeded compatriot Amanda Anisimova, the 20-year-old cruising past the Australian Open finalist 6-2 6-2.

There were also victories for Jil Teichmann, who overcame Elena Rybakina 6-7 (3-7) 6-3 7-5, and ninth seed Ons Jabeur, who beat Yulia Putintseva 6-3 6-2.

Iga Swiatek and Paula Badosa progressed to the third round of the Internazionali d'Italia with ease as the former continued her impressive winning run on Wednesday.

Top seed Switaek, seeking a fifth consecutive title, breezed past Elena-Gabriela Ruse 6-3 6-0 as she became the first female player to win 24 consecutive matches since Serena Williams in 2015.

Badosa followed suit by dispatching Aliaksandra Sasnovich 6-2 6-1 in just an hour and 17 minutes, teeing up a third-round clash with Daria Kasatkina, who beat Leylah Fernandez 4-6 6-3 7-6 (7-2).

Aryna Sabalenka, the third favourite in Italy, also made light work of Zhang Shuai to triumph 6-2 6-0, while fourth seed Maria Sakkari cruised past Madrid Open semi-finalist Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 6-2.

Sakkari will next face a Rome rematch with Coco Gauff, who defeated compatriot Madison Brengle 6-2 6-4. Teenager Gauff's sole win against Sakkari came at this tournament in the second round last year.

Yulia Putintseva came from behind to beat Garbine Muguruza 3-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-1, and will next meet Ons Jabeur, who made it eight successive main-draw wins by defeating Ajla Tomljanovic 7-5 6-2.

Seventh seed Danielle Collins also battled past former world number one Simona Halep 7-6 (7-1) 6-3.

There was no such joy for fifth seed Anett Kontaveit as she crashed out to Petra Martic in straight sets, while Jil Teichmann upset former Rome champion Karolina Pliskova in a three-set thriller.

Belinda Bencic, who was ranked as 12th seed, was another early casualty as she fell to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-1 defeat against American Amanda Anisimova.

Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula secured her third-round spot after Anhelina Kalinina withdrew due to injury, with Victoria Azarenka earning a straightforward 6-2 6-4 victory over Camila Osorio to get a shot at favourite Swiatek in the next round.

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