TORONTO -- No.2 seed Aryna Sabalenka is ready to swing freely again. After missing Wimbledon due to a rotator cuff injury, Sabalenka says she's feeling confident she can play without the injury on her mind.

On Thursday, the World No.3 eased through her opener at the National Bank Open, defeating No.42 Yuan Yue 6-2, 6-2 in the second round. The win sets up a third-round match against Great Britain's Katie Boulter on Friday. 

Toronto: Scores | Draws | Order of Play

Sabalenka is playing her second tournament since her shoulder injury. She made her competitive return last week at the Mubadala Citi DC Open, where she made the semifinals. This week, she is bidding to make her first hard-court final since January.

"That's been really tricky to play the first tournament, because you are overprotective," Sabalenka told reporters in Toronto. "You're trying not to overdo stuff, you are protecting your shoulder, and I think that creates more tension. I was super sore in Washington, and coming here we did a lot of recovery, a lot of mobility stretches. 

"Now I feel much better with my shoulder, I realize that I don't have to protect it, that it's done, it's clean, I can go for it without fear that I can get injured again. Right now I feel more free on court and nothing bothering me there and it's out of my mind, so it means that I can stay focused on the game and just compete and do my best."

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Twelve months ago, Sabalenka was ranked No.2 in the world, in the midst of a remarkably consistent season at the Grand Slam level, and chasing down Iga Swiatek for the World No.1 ranking. The 26-year-old made good on that quest, ascending to World No.1 on the PIF WTA Rankings for the first time after making her second major final of the year at the US Open.

This season started out similarly for Sabalenka, as she successfully defended her Australian Open title to move her major tally to two. Since that win, her season highlights came on the clay. She made back-to-back finals in Madrid and Rome, losing to Swiatek at both events. 

While she was breathing down the Pole's neck this time last year for the top ranking, she comes into Toronto at No.3 in the Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard and trailing Swiatek by over 2,800 points. In many ways, the pressure is lower on Sabalenka, and she can use the next few months decompressing, regrouping, and building up her game without the pressure of the chase.

"I'm better without goals," Sabalenka laughed. "Compared to the last year, it's a completely different situation, I would say. I mean, even ranking-wise, and last Grand Slam I wasn't able to play -- it's different things I'm working through.

"I'm good with the small goals. And the big goals, I think everyone has the same goals, like it's so obvious, we all have the big goals. But I think the key is to focus on the small goals, small steps."

Other results:

  • No.35 Elise Mertens earned her second win of the season over former No.1 Naomi Osaka, winning 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the Round of 16. Mertens took advantage of Osaka's erratic errors from the baseline to seal the win and set up a meeting with No.6 seed Liudmila Samsonova on Friday. The Belgian also got the better of 97th-ranked Osaka in a straight-set win at Indian Wells in the spring. Osaka avenged the loss on the grass at 's-Hertogenbosch over the summer.
  • Former No.1 Victoria Azarenka closed out the night with a comeback win over Greet Minnen. Azarenka came from a set down to win 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 and will face Peyton Stearns next.