Despite being ranked fourth in the world, Paula Badosa came into her quarter-final showdown with the red-hot Coco Gauff as the underdog, but she played like a favourite en route to a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 victory.

Usually one of her stronger weapons, Gauff's serve was a liability on Friday, with six double faults in the first set alone to drop the opening frame despite breaking Badosa twice.

In the second set, while Badosa was converting 92 per cent (11-of-12) of her accurate first serves into points, Gauff's figure was down at 53 per cent (eight-of-15) as the Spaniard's return game was at its best.

Badosa will meet seventh seed Daria Kasatkina in the semi-final after the Russian beat Belarus' Aryna Sabalenka 4-6 7-5 6-0. The longer the match went, the less effective Sabalenka became with her ability to return serve.

In the first set, which Sabalenka won, she was successful in 53 per cent (19-of-36) of the points against Kasatkina's serve, and that number plummeted to 14 per cent (two-of-14) in the decider.

Third seed and Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur was eliminated by ninth seed Veronika Kudermetova 7-6 (7-5) 6-2, and she will meet unseeded American Shelby Rogers in the second semi-final after she defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-4 6-4.

Meanwhile, in Washington at the Citi Open, Emma Raducanu felt the effects of her gruelling match 24 hours prior as she went down 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 to Liudmila Samsonova.

On Thursday, Raducanu played in the longest two-set match of the WTA season as she eventually made her way through two tiebreakers against Camila Osorio in two hours and 49 minutes, and she ran out of steam after another tough tie-break against Samsonova.

Samsonova will play China's Xiyu Wang in the semi-final after another upset, knocking out fourth seed Victoria Azarenka in convincing fashion 6-1 6-3.

Estonia's Kaia Kanepi booked her place in the second semi-final after a 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-3 win against Anna Kalinskaya, where she will meet Daria Saville after the Australian got the better of Canada's Rebecca Marino 6-1 7-5. 

Coco Gauff was too sharp with her return game for Naomi Osaka in the second round of the Silicon Valley Classic on Thursday, coming away with a 6-4 6-4 win.

Gauff – the world number 11 and tournament's sixth seed – created 12 break point opportunities in the match, while only allowing one for Osaka, despite eight double-faults.

Ultimately, Gauff won 41 per cent (29-of-71) of the points off Osaka's serve, while converting 85 per cent (28-of-33) of her successful first serves into points.

Earlier in the day in a major upset, top seed Maria Sakkari was eliminated in straight sets 6-1 6-3 by American Shelby Rogers. 

The world number three struggled with her serve throughout, landing only 45 per cent of her first serves, and winning just 52 per cent (12-of-23) of those points.

World number six Aryna Sabalenka needed three sets to defeat unseeded American Carolina Dolehide 5-7 6-1 7-5, and Russia's Veronika Kudermetova had less trouble dispatching Claire Liu 6-2 7-5 to set up an exciting match with Ons Jabeur in the quarter-final.

Meanwhile, in Washington at the Citi Open, Emma Raducanu played in the longest two-set match of the WTA season, defeating Camila Osorio 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-4) in two hours and 49 minutes.

Both women created at least a dozen break point opportunities, with four total breaks each as the young British star battled blisters on her hands.

Raducanu will play Liudmila Samsonova after the Russian eliminated Australia's Ajla Tomljanovich 4-6 6-3 6-2.

In the last match of the day, China's Xiyu Wang got the better of Croatia's Donna Vekic 4-6 7-5 6-1, and she will meet the winner between Tereza Martincova and Victoria Azarenka in the quarter-final.

Second and third seeds Paula Badosa and Ons Jabeur eased into the Silicon Valley Classic quarter-finals on Wednesday, while Simona Halep and Jessica Pegula were bundled out of the Citi Open.

Last month's Wimbledon finalist Jabeur proved too good for American Madison Keys 7-5 6-1, winning in one hour and 22 minutes.

Jabeur, playing for the first time since Wimbledon, converted six of nine break points for the match, dominating the second set where she won 90.9 per cent first serve points.

Second seed Badosa survived a scare to win over qualifier Elizabeth Mandlik 6-2 5-7 7-6 (7-5) in two hours and 31 minutes.

Eighth seed Karolina Pliskova was knocked out by American Amanda Anisimova 3-6 7-5 6-1, while last year's runner-up Daria Kasatkina beat Taylor Townsend 6-4 6-0.

Two-time major winner Halep was forced to retire due to illness and top seed Jessica Pegula was bundled out by Daria Saville at the Citi Open.

In warm conditions, the 30-year-old Romanian battled throughout the match but eventually retired down 7-5 2-0 to Anna Kalinskaya after one hour and six minutes.

Halep had fought back from a 4-0 deficit in the first set to square it up at 5-5, before losing the first set.

However, the former world number one succumbed to illness early in the second set, handing Kalinskaya her passage into the quarter-finals.

On a dramatic day for the Citi Open favourites, world number seven Pegula was eliminated by Saville in straight sets in one hour and 38 minutes, 7-5 6-4.

Pegula was not helped by a first-serve percentage of 44.8 per cent, while she struggled to convert break points, with the Australian saving nine of 10 for the match.

Saville's win means she is 3-3 against top 20 opponents this year, progressing into the last eight where she will face Canadian qualifier Rebecca Marino.

Marino, who beat Venus Williams in her return to singles in the first round on Monday, knocked off Germany's Andrea Petkovic 6-3 3-6 6-1.

Estonian sixth seed Kaia Kanepi progressed into the quarters where she will face Kalinskaya after beating China's Zhu Lin 4-6 6-4 6-4.

Naomi Osaka delivered a terrific third set to defeat China's Qinweng Zheng 6-4 3-6 6-1 in the opening round of the Silicon Valley Classic.

Osaka's serve was sharp and it carried her through the match, with 11 aces to Zheng's three, while giving up one break of serve and securing three breaks herself.

After Zheng fought back to win the second set, Osaka was the steady head in the decider, allowing her opponent to implode with three double-faults in crucial points to collect her first win since April.

Osaka will meet Cori Gauff in a star-studded second-round matchup after Gauff dominated Anhelina Kalinina 6-1 6-0.

She was simply too powerful for her Ukrainian opponent, winning 89 per cent (25-of-28) of her first serves to never give Kalinina a chance.

Canada's Bianca Andreescu was eliminated by American Shelby Rogers 6-4 6-2, while Russia's Veronika Kudermetova won a hard-fought battle against Italy's Camila Giorgi 7-6 (7-2) 4-6 7-5.

Meanwhile, in Washington at the Citi Open, Emma Raducanu looked in good touch as she handled the challenge of Louisa Chirico 6-4 6-2 to advance to the second round.

Raducanu will meet Colombia's Camila Osorio after she beat American Sofia Kenin 7-6 (7-2) 6-1, and top-20 talent Victoria Azarenka had no issues against Dayana Yastremska to win 6-4 6-0.

Australian Ajla Tomljanovic continued her strong run of form with a convincing 6-1 6-4 win against American Sloane Stephens, and the Czech Republic's Tereza Martincova recovered from a horrible first set to defeat Xinyu Wang 0-6 6-4 6-4.

Germany's Andrea Petkovic cruised to a 6-2 6-2 win against Denmark's Clara Tauson, and Russia's Anna Kalinskaya defeated American Madison Brengle 6-3 6-0.

Elena Rybakina has been bundled out of the first round of the Silicon Valley Classic by Daria Kasatkina in her first game since her Wimbledon triumph last month.

Rybakina won the first set comfortably before the Russian hit back for a remarkable turnaround win, 1-6 6-2 6-0 in one hour and 40 minutes.

Seventh seed Kasatkina was the runner-up at last year's Silicon Valley Classic and found her groove to break her Rybakina six times in the second and third sets.

Rybakina sent down three of her four aces for the match in the first set, but Kasatkina adjusted to her serve and won 52.1 per cent return points for the match.

Eighth seed Karolina Pliskova fought back from a slow start to get past Katie Boulter 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-3, despite 16 double faults.

American Amanda Anisimova overcame compatriot Ashlyn Krueger 6-2 7-6 (7-5). US pair Madison Keys and Taylor Townsend were also winners.

Third seed Simona Halep and top seed Jessica Pegula were both among the winners in the first round at the Citi Open in Washington DC.

Two-time major winner Halep cruised past Spanish qualifier Cristina Bucsa 6-3 7-5 in one hour and 20 minutes.

Halep, playing her first match since her Wimbledon semi-final loss to Rybakina, fired 19 winners but also 33 unforced errors.

Defending champion Pegula made light work of countrywoman Hailey Baptiste 6-2 6-2 in 73 minutes.

Pegula will face unseeded Australian Daria Saville, who won in three sets over Mirjam Bjorklund, while sixth seed Kaia Kanepi will meet China's Zhu Lin after both won on Monday.

Fifth seed Elise Mertens was a first-round casualty, going down 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 to Ludmilla Samsonova, while Croatian Donna Vekic knocked off seventh seed Mayar Sherif 6-4 6-1.

Six-time major champion Venus Williams played her first singles match in nearly a year but bowed out 4-6 6-1 6-4 to Rebecca Marino. 

Four-time major winner Naomi Osaka wants to simply get back to having fun upon her return to tennis at the Silicon Valley Classic this week.

The Japanese 24-year-old has not played since her first-round loss to Amanda Anisimova at the French Open in May and sits 41st in the world rankings. 

Osaka, who missed Wimbledon due to a left Achilles issue, parted ways with coach Wim Fissette last month after two and a half years.

The injury is one of many that have plagued Osaka over the past difficult 15 months, during which she withdrew from last year's French Open citing "mental health reasons" after boycotting her mandatory post-match media conferences.

She also announced a hiatus following her third-round US Open exit last year but appears in a better place now, with her father, Leonard Francois, stepping in as her coach.

"I just would like to have fun and I know I say that very often, basically every tournament for the last year now, but to genuinely have fun," Osaka told reporters.

"I was telling my dad literally this morning when we were practicing in the rain, years ago we would have to fight to practice on public courts. It was just me and my sister and my dad alone.

"Now I've gotten to the point where people pay to watch me play, and for that I am very grateful. I would have never imagined that as a child.

"Just having fun and being grateful in the moment and trying to engage with everyone to the best of my abilities."

Osaka moved to clarify there was nothing sinister behind her split with Fissette, having won the 2020 US Open and 2021 Australian Open titles alongside him.

"It was really good times with Wim and he's a really amazing coach," Osaka said.

"We didn't part on bad terms. I just felt I needed different energy, and at the same time, he's a very ambitious guy. I was getting injured and I'm sure he would have wanted to go to Wimbledon.

"It was two different mindsets, I would say. But he's a really cool guy still. So confirming that there were no bad things happening."

Osaka is due to face Qinwen Zheng in the first round at the Silicon Valley Classic on Tuesday.

Caroline Garcia claimed her ninth WTA Tour singles title with a 6-4 6-1 win over Ana Bogdan in the final of the Poland Open on Sunday.

Garcia needed just one hour and 21 minutes to see off first-time WTA finalist Bogdan and claim her second title in five weeks after her triumph at the Bad Homburg Open.

Fifth seed Garcia had seen her world ranking slip to 79 in May – her lowest position since 2014 – but she has been in fine form since then, winning 18 of her past 21 matches.

The Frenchwoman wasted little time asserting her authority against Bogdan, ranked 108th in the world, racing into a 3-0 lead.

Bogdan fought back to get back on serve at 5-4, yet a fierce return from Garcia in the next game wrapped up the first set.

Garcia, who defeated world number one Iga Swiatek in the last eight, earned the first break of the second set to move 3-1 ahead, before winning final consecutive games to get her hands on the trophy with the minimum of fuss.

Anastasia Potapova proved no match for home favourite Marie Bouzkova in the final of the Prague Open, as the Czech triumphed in straight sets.

Making her fourth appearance in a WTA Tour-level final, Bouzkova ended her wait for a maiden title with a convincing 6-0 6-3 success on Sunday.

Bouzkova, ranked 66th in the world heading into her home tournament, wrapped up the first set in under 30 minutes.

Potapova hit back with two breaks in the second, but an overhit forehand down the line from the Russian handed Bouzkova the trophy in her second final of 2022.

"I just want to thank everyone, it's just a dream for me to win my first title here at home, I couldn't be happier," said Bouzkova, the fifth Czech to win on home soil since the event debuted on the WTA Tour in 2015, after Karolina Pliskova, Lucie Safarova, Petra Kvitova and Barbora Krejcikova. 

"I felt your support, even those who aren't here, it's a dream come true, playing in front of a home crowd. My first winner's speech, I'm sorry it's not the best!"

Bouzkova, 24, has now won both of her matches against Potapova, after defeating the 21-year-old in qualifying for the Miami Open earlier this year.

Caroline Garcia eased into the Poland Open final by dominating against Jasmine Paolini a day on from a superb win over Iga Swiatek.

Garcia defeated Swiatek in three sets on Friday, ending the world number one's 18-match winning streak on clay.

Paolini should have provided a far more straightforward task, and so it proved, as Garcia raced through 6-1 6-2 to make the title match.

The fifth seed will now face first-time WTA Tour finalist Ana Bogdan – a 7-5 7-5 victor against Kateryna Baindl – in that Warsaw decider.

Garcia will hope for better conditions for the showpiece, with rain having added another factor on Saturday, when the in-form French star was still recovering from stopping Swiatek.

"It's been a challenging week, especially today, with the big win yesterday, only a couple of hours to recover and be ready," Garcia explained.

"Conditions were very difficult, a lot of rain. I'm just very happy with the way I played, and I stayed very focused on the present, and it paid off."

At the Prague Open, Anastasia Potapova will face Marie Bouzkova in the final, the seventh seed playing the eighth seed.

Potapova had it largely her own way against Wang Qiang, who succumbed to a second-set bagel in going down 6-3 6-0, while Bouzkova also won in two but needed a tie-break in the opener against Linda Noskova, progressing 7-6 (7-4) 6-3.

Potapova faces a busy Sunday, as she had already advanced to the doubles final alongside partner Yana Sizikova.

Iga Swiatek's lengthy unbeaten run on clay was brought to a surprise end by Caroline Garcia at the Poland Open on Friday. 

The world number one succumbed to a 6-1 1-6 6-4 defeat to the fifth seed, who ended the French Open champion's 18-match winning streak on the dirt. 

It was Garcia's first win over a top-ranked player and sent her into a semi-final against Jasmine Paolini after the Italian came from behind to beat Viktorija Golubic 1-6 6-2 6-2. 

Swiatek said: "Maybe I wasn't as disciplined as in previous tournaments, but I'm happy. I felt like my brain didn't intuitively predict where the ball would go, but I'm still learning, right? 

"The first two sets depended on her – whether or not she would be in control. At the end of the second she lost control and took advantage. 

"In the third set, she got back to her game. But if I had a better first serve percentage, maybe it would have been different. 

"I don't know what decision I will make next year. Maybe longer preparation [on clay] will be necessarily, or maybe I'll give up this tournament. We'll see." 

Kateryna Baindl became the first lucky loser to reach a WTA Tour semi-final this year by overcoming Petra Martic 1-6 6-3 6-4. Next up for Baindl is Ana Bogdan, who beat Laura Pigossi 6-1 6-1.  

World number two Anett Kontaveit was also on the receiving end of an upset, going down 6-1 6-1 to Anastasia Potapova in 49 minutes at the Prague Open. 

Potapova will take on qualifier Wang Qiang for a place in the final, with Czech pair Marie Bouzkova and Linda Noskova – only the second female player born after 2004 to reach the last four of a WTA Tour tournament – in action on the other side of the draw. 

Reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu believes she needs to cut herself some slack as she aims to improve her consistency on the court.

Having made her breakthrough at last year's Wimbledon championships, Raducanu went on to claim a stunning success at the US Open.

The Briton defeated fellow teenager Leylah Fernandez in straight sets, becoming the first singles qualifier in the Open Era to win a grand slam title.

Yet with the North American swing fast approaching, Raducanu has not yet come close to replicating that form in 2022.

Indeed, since winning the US Open, she has reached just two WTA Tour-level quarter-finals, while she has failed to progress past the second round in any of the three majors.

While acknowledging she needs to add more consistency to her game, the 19-year-old remains relaxed, insisting she is learning to take a step back and enjoy her situation.

"My goal would be towards consistency," she told the Evening Standard. "But equally, I'm going to try and cut myself some slack.

"I'm young and I have achieved something great. I think I should step back and enjoy it.

"I'd say I am too much of a perfectionist. That drives me crazy sometimes. I obviously think it's a great trait, because I don't think I would have had the results I did without that drive and that wanting to be better.

"But it can be really self-destructive at the same time, because you're never happy and you'll always complain or find something wrong."

The Canadian-born star cites her upbringing, and the high standards set by her parents, as crucial to her success.

She added: "They've always had high standards, and told me when things weren't very good, whereas other people might have wanted to encourage me. My parents always told me how it is, and I always had this sense of wanting to prove them wrong.

"Even in primary school, we had a sprint race on sports day and for seven years straight, I won it. I'm undefeated! I really like to win. I love the fight.

"When things get tough, keep getting yourself back up. Keep persevering. Each time you do, it teaches you a lesson and you accumulate experience. Then you can grow a big bank of knowledge that you can tap into."

Raducanu is ranked 10th in the world by the WTA, and this week joined up with Dmitry Tursunov, who will coach her on a trial basis for next week's Citi Open. She split with former mentor Torben Beltz in April.

In the midst of a brilliant season, world number one Iga Swiatek had another milestone to celebrate on Thursday when she beat Gabriela Lee at the Poland Open.

Swiatek's 6-3 6-2 win against her Romanian opponent was her 48th of the season, already equalling the best tally reached by a female player in the entirety of 2021.

The top seed will have a chance to go one better than Anett Kontaveit and Ons Jabeur from last season when she faces Caroline Garcia in the quarter-finals of her home tournament.

Garcia beat Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3 7-5, while Jasmine Paolini dug deep to see off Clara Burel 6-1 6-7 (1-7) 6-0.

There was a big upset at the Prague Open, as defending champion Barbora Krejcikova was eliminated in a 3-6 7-5 (7-5) 6-3 defeat at the hands of Nao Hibino.

Fellow Czech Lucie Havlickova was dispatched in straight sets by top seed Kontaveit, but Linda Noskova will keep the home flag flying after beating Alize Cornet.

Noskova's first career tour-level quarter-final will come against Krejcikova's conqueror Hibino.

Top seed Iga Swiatek brushed aside compatriot Magdalena Frech to advance to the last 16 at the Poland Open on Tuesday.

The Warsaw native took 73 minutes to secure a safe passage to the next round with a 6-1 6-2 victory, setting up a clash with Romanian Gabriela Lee – who defeated Raluka Serban on Tuesday.

Swiatek won 76.2 per cent of total service points and won 61.8 per cent of the overall points in the match, with Frech on the back foot throughout, extending her winning streak on clay to 17 matches.

It was Swiatek's first time on the court since defeat at Wimbledon to Alize Cornet, which brought an end to a remarkable 37-match unbeaten run.

Elsewhere, eighth seed Petra Martic overcame Weronika Falkowska 7-5 6-4, while there were also victories for Laura Pigossi, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, Sara Errani and Ana Bogdan.

In the Prague Open, Wimbledon quarter-finalist Marie Bouzkova advanced after a dominant 6-1 6-2 victory against Czech teenager Dominika Salkova - setting up a clash against another teenager, 19-year-old Russian Oksana Selekhmeteva.

There were also victories for Chloe Paquet, Wang Qiang and Magda Linette on day five of the tournament.

Top seed Anett Kontaveit took just 48 minutes to secure her place in the second round of the Prague Open, but Sorana Cirstea suffered a surprise loss. 

Defeated in the final of the Hamburg European Open last weekend, Kontaveit got straight back to winning ways in rapid time with a 6-0 6-1 win over Ekaterine Gorgodze. 

The world number two got 81.8 per cent of her first serves in, with the overwhelmed Gorgodze only able to win nine returning points across the entire match. 

Up next for Kontaveit is Lucie Havlickova after the Czech defeated compatriot Barbora Palicova 6-2 7-6 (7-5). 

Fourth seed Cirstea was sent packing from the first round by 19-year-old qualifier Oksana Selekhmeteva, whose 7-5 6-4 success was her first in the main draw of a WTA Tour event. 

Dominika Salkova marked her WTA main-draw debut with a 6-1 6-4 win over Ylena In-Albon, while Barbora Krejcikova delighted the home crowd with her 6-3 6-1 triumph against Anna Blinkova. 

Due to persistent rain, only three matches were completed at the Warsaw Open on Tuesday. 

Clara Burel, Ana Bogdan and Jasmine Paolini all advanced to the second round with wins over Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova, Nuria Parrizas-Diaz and Danka Kovinic respectively.