Japanese Naomi Osaka qualified for the second round of the Toronto 1000-point tennis tournament, after defeating Tunisian Ons Jabeur, ranked ninth, in two straight sets, 6/3 and 6/1, in the first round.
Osaka, a former world number one and winner of four Grand Slam titles between 2018 and 2021, is currently ranked 95th in the world, but has beaten players in the top 20 five times since the start of the year.
Osaka will face Belgian Elise Mertens in the second round, who defeated American Katie Volynets in straight sets, 6/3, 6/1.
American Coco Gauff and Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, ranked first and second respectively, will begin their tournament campaign later today.
While American Jessica Pegula, ranked third in the world, had reached the third round yesterday, Wednesday, by defeating Czech Karolina Pliskova.