Coco Gauff advances to Canadian Open semis as Belinda Bencic withdraws due to injury

TORONTO — Coco Gauff, the world No. 4, is into the semifinals of the Canadian Open via walkover after Belinda Bencic withdrew due to a hip injury, the tournament announced Tuesday. The match was to begin at 7 p.m. ET.

“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.”

After the withdrawal announcement, Bencic came on court to address the Toronto crowd. She confirmed the hip issues that she is experiencing, that she “tried to warm up, take painkillers,” but there was no solution to complete the match.

“Even if I came out, I wouldn’t be close to my best,” Bencic said. “It was really not possible.”

Gauff had a 30-minute practice session on Centre Court less than three hours before the match was supposed to begin. The mood was light as Gauff was smiling with coach Jean-Christophe Faurel and biomechanics specialist Gavin MacMillan. She practiced all of her shots, ending the session with blasting forehands and backhands. As she grabbed her rackets and bags, she fist bumped Faurel and MacMillan and smiled as she walked off the court, as she was looking to win her fifth consecutive match against Bencic.

Gauff didn’t play a point due to Bencic’s withdrawal and is into her 16th career WTA 1000 semifinal. She improved to 4-0 in WTA 1000 quarterfinal matches this year. The two-time Grand Slam champion is still searching for her first WTA singles title in 2026. But her tennis in Toronto has been stellar through three completed matches. In her first tournament since Wimbledon, Gauff hasn’t dropped a set. She cruised to the quarterfinals with confident victories over Kayla Day, 29th-seed Maria Sakkari and qualifier Alina Korneeva.

Now, Gauff awaits the winner of Naomi Osaka and Elena Rybakina, who will play the only match on Centre Court Tuesday night, starting not before 7:30 p.m. It will be Gauff’s first semifinal appearance in Canada, as she attempts to reach her third WTA 1000 final of the year.

This story will be updated.

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