Aryna Sabalenka’s love for night sessions was once again proven in Montreal. Both her second and third-round matches were scheduled in the night session, with the Belarusian emerging as the winner in straight sets on both occasions. After the win over China’s Zhang Shuai in Toronto on Thursday, the world No. 1 shared her feelings about the night sessions during the on-court interview. 

“It’s really an amazing atmosphere. I’m glad I’m playing the night matches. I hope they’ll continue scheduling me for the night matches because it’s the best,” Sabalenka said, thanking the crowd for their energy throughout the contest. 

The 6-3, 6-4 scoreline was much closer than it seems, as Zhang held the world No. 1 for 76 minutes. The Chinese had kept Sabalenka under pressure in the second set and even earned a break point in the final game, but the top seed immediately closed out the match. 

“That was definitely tricky. She played great. It was tough to face when you want to finish the match and go rest. And you know there was the break point. Of course, that’s definitely not easy, and I’m happy that I managed to stay focused and managed to close this match in straight sets,” Sabalenka added.

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The victory brought Sabalenka’s season record to 38-6 overall and a 25-1 mark on hard court, the fastest player to reach 25 wins on hard court in a season since Serena Williams in 2016. She has also improved her own record against Zhang to 5-1, winning all five previous meetings. The 28-year-old next faces 16th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, with whom she currently stands at 5-4 on the head-to-head. 

Aryna Sabalenka’s enthusiasm for the night slot in Toronto stands in sharp contrast to a debate she was at the center of just two months earlier. Her fourth-round clash with Naomi Osaka in this year’s French Open was the first women’s round to be held in primetime at Roland Garros in three years. It was a genuinely rare occurrence given that only four of the previous 60 night sessions on Court Philippe Chatrier had featured a women’s match. 

The occasion lived up to the billing in every way, with Sabalenka producing one of her best performances of the tournament to beat Osaka 7-5, 6-3, striking 12 aces and winning 83 percent of her first-serve points to reach a 14th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final.

Aryna Sabalenka’s relationship with night sessions

That match arrived only after years of Sabalenka publicly pushing back against exactly the kind of scheduling imbalance that had kept women off Chatrier’s night slot for so long. Back in 2025, she suffered criticism over a night game against Sloane Stephens from many journalists who argued it was just a token gesture and not equal treatment.

The Belarusian fought for change. At the time, she said, “We deserve equal treatment,” adding that women’s matches deserve to be in the spotlight just as much as the men’s game does. 

That year, Roland Garros director Amelie Mauresmo had also commented on the subject, saying the women were “worthy” of being included in the night sessions more consistently, though the tournament decided to keep a limit of one match each night to avoid running the events very late. 

Her next match against Alexandrova is not slotted in the night session because of having played back-to-back matches under the lights. Interestingly, Sabalenka was a part of the latest-ever starting match in US Open history at the 2024 US Open against Ekaterina Alexandrova, the very same opponent she faces next. Hence, it is set to be a thrilling three-set encounter. Following that milestone, she went on to capture her maiden US Open crown, securing the third Grand Slam title of her career.

Currently, the primetime slot has gone to the most talked-about women’s tennis player, Alexandra Eala, as she takes on American Caty McNally in front of the packed Filipino crowd.