Iga Swiatek wins Cincinnati Open to send a message to U.S. Open field: Watch out

All the way from Cincinnati, Iga Świątek sent a message to the U.S. Open field Monday night — watch out.

Świątek, one tournament removed from her stunning Wimbledon title, won the most important U.S. Open tuneup by beating Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4 in the final of the Cincinnati Open. She is back to No. 2 in the rankings. She is within shouting distance of world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka.

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She is coming for the top of tennis — again.

On a steamy evening in Mason, Ohio Świątek’s effort wasn’t flawless. But give Paolini credit for that. The Italian came back to break Świątek when she first served for the opening set. She broke her twice in the second set, when Świątek surged to the early leads that usually result in lopsided sets.

But every time it looked like Paolini might grab an edge, Świątek clamped down to win her first title on a hard court since March of 2024, in Indian Wells, Calif. This win, coupled with the win in London on grass, makes Świątek the arguable favorite to win the year’s final Grand Slam in New York.

She won the U.S. Open in 2022, a triumph that came during her most dominant period of her career, which included 125 weeks as world No. 1 But Świątek lost the top ranking last year, and failed to win a title between the French Open in 2024 and Wimbledon this year. She appeared lost at times, even on the red clay where she has dominated for most of the last five years. Since then, she has played with a revitalized patience and more variety, and the results have been nearly flawless. She has lost just two matches in the last two months while winning 18. She has made the finals of three of the four tournaments she has entered, winning two of them.

Paolini had Świątek on the ropes early, surging to a 3-0 lead. But Świątek won the next five games and looked like she would seal the set quickly. Paolini had other ideas, out-rallying her the next two games to knot the opener at 5 games each. But Świątek used her speed and agility to showcase her stellar defense to get the lead back in the next game, then cracked two big serves to seal it.

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Paolini kept rising, but as happens so often, Świątek proved too relentless, pushing Paolini deep for a backhand miss to gain match point, then ending the night with an ace. She slammed her racket to the ground, looked at her box and pointed at her head as she pumped her fists. Then she was jumping around the court for joy, her 24th title in the bag. It was also her 11th WTA 1000 title, the level just below a Grand Slam. She has six of those.

No rest for the weary, though. Świątek was scheduled to board a flight and play in the U.S. Open mixed doubles with Casper Ruud on Tuesday afternoon in New York. And early next week, she will begin her quest for a seventh Grand Slam.

Watch out.

(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)

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