Kayla Cross’ journey at the National Bank Open in Toronto has come to an end following a second-round loss,7-6 (2), 6-3, to Ann Li on Wednesday afternoon.
The 21-year-old Canadian earned her first WTA main draw win on Monday with a first-round win over No. 69 Katie Boulter, her first win against a Top 100 player, and is projected to jump to a career high of No. 161 following the tournament.
With the straight-sets win, the 31st-ranked Li earns her first career win at the NBO and will advance to the third round to take on the winner of Wednesday's match between Daria Kasatkina and No. 2 Elena Rybakina.
Li appeared to be the shakier of the two to start the match, as she managed just 37 per cent of her first serves over her first two service games, though she was strong enough on her second serve that the Canadian was unable to take advantage.
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Cross was the first player to blink, conceding the first break of the match thanks to a pair of errant shots to go down 4-2. The American would quickly hold at love to consolidate and move one game away from clinching the set.
Cross would not go away quietly and finally capitalized on the 26-year-old Li’s shaky serve, earning her first break of the match to get things back on serve, at 5-4. The Canadian did not make it easy on herself, as she faced break and set point, but was able to finish off the gutsy hold to draw level.
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The set would head to a tiebreaker that Li would dominate, earning three mini breaks to take the first set 7-6(2).
The turning point of the second came in Cross’ third service game when Li broke her at love to go up 3-2. Up to that point, the two had gone shot-for-shot, including offsetting breaks to open the set. The more experienced Li would finish things off in quick order, finishing the match by breaking Cross one more time to seal the victory.
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After winning in Guangzhou and reaching the finals in Cleveland and Singapore last season, Li had struggled on hard courts in 2026, entering Wednesday’s matchup with a 6-10 record on the surface.
Cross earned her way into the National Bank Open after securing the Road to the NBO wildcard by winning the title at the W75 event in Granby.
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Feature Photo: Morgan Givens/Wick Photography for National Bank Open
