round to 13th seed Belinda Bencic. In Cincinnati at the Western & Southern Open, Kanepi was defeated in the first round of qualifying by Barbora Strýcová. Even though Kanepi qualified for the first edition of the Bronx Open, she lost in the first round to fellow qualifier and eventual champion Magda Linette. At the US Open, Kanepi was defeated in the second round by 23rd seed Donna Vekić. As the top seed at the first edition of the Oeste Ladies Open, Kanepi lost in her quarterfinal match to eventual champion Isabella Shinikova. After getting through qualifying at the Kremlin Cup, Kanepi won her first-round match over Tímea Babos. She was defeated in the second round by second seed Kiki Bertens. As the top seed at a $15k tournament in Milovice, Kanepi won the tournament beating Anastasia Kulikova in the final. Her final tournament of the season was at the Open de Limoges in France where she lost in the first round to fourth seed Jennifer Brady. Kanepi ended the season ranked 101. 2020 Kanepi started her 2020 season at the Brisbane International. She lost in the first round of qualifying to Marie Bouzková. At the Australian Open, she was defeated in the first round by qualifier Barbora Krejčíková. The WTA tour was suspended from March through July due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When the WTA resumed tournament play in August, she made her return at the US Open. She fell in her second-round match to 27th seed Ons Jabeur. A couple of weeks later, she competed at the rescheduled French Open and was beaten in the second round by 16th seed Elise Mertens. 2021 Kanepi started her season at the first edition of the Gippsland Trophy. She stunned fourth seed Aryna Sabalenka in the second round. She ended up reaching the final where she lost to seventh seed Elise Mertens. The following week, at the Australian Open, she upset fourth seed and defending champion, Sofia Kenin, in the second round. This was her 13th Top 10 victory, and eighth at a Grand Slam tournament. She was defeated in the third round by 28th seed Donna Vekić. Getting past qualifying in Dubai, Kanepi was eliminated in the first round by Shelby Rogers. At the Miami Open, she was beaten in the second round by 21st seed Elena Rybakina. Starting her clay-court season in Istanbul, Kanepi lost in the second round to