TORONTO — Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic pulled out of the National Bank Open on Tuesday due to a hip injury. Organizers confirmed the withdrawal shortly before her quarterfinal match against American Coco Gauff was scheduled to begin at Sobeys Stadium. “I am really sorry to not be able to compete tonight,” Bencic said in a statement. “This is an amazing tournament and I was really looking forward to playing in front of the great fans here in Toronto. “I tried everything possible to be ready for tonight.” The fourth-seeded Gauff advanced to the semifinals via walkover. Japan’s Naomi Osaka, the No. 11 seed, and second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan were scheduled to meet later in the evening in the other quarterfinal. No. 9 seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland secured semifinal berths a day earlier. The 12th-seeded Bencic, who won here in 2015, defeated Alexandra Eala of the Philippines on Sunday to reach the quarterfinals. Bencic played with significant taping around her left thigh. Semifinal matches were set for Wednesday and the final was scheduled for Thursday at the WTA Tour event. In doubles semifinal play, Italy’s Sara Errani and American Nicole Melichar-Martinez beat Taiwan’s Su-Wei Hsieh and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko 6-1, 4-6, 10-8. In quarterfinal action, Tereza Mihalikova of Slovakia and Britain’s Olivia Nicholls posted a 7-5, 6-4 win over Belgium’s Elise Mertens and Russia’s Diana Shnaider. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2026. Gregory Strong, The Canadian Press
