Having lost in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open in each of the previous two editions, Iga Swiatek looked determined to make it through to the finals this time. Although the former world number 3, Elena Rybakina, put up a strong fight in the first set, Swiatek managed to keep her composure intact in that match to secure a win by 7-5,6-3. With that win, she reached the final of the Cincinnati Open for the first time in her career. In the final, her opponent was Jasmine Paolini, and over here, Swiatek had a clear edge in this duel. Reason?

Iga Swiatek had a 5-0 lead against the Italian in their H2H record. However, Jasmine Paolini got off to a stellar start in this match, winning the first three games within the blink of an eye. But the Pole managed to pull things back on track right at the nick of time. She defeated Paolini by 7-5,6-4 to lift her maiden Cincinnati Open title. This is Swiatek’s 24th title in her career and also her 11th WTA 1000 title. That’s now also the second-most WTA 1000 titles since 2009, only behind tennis legend Serena Williams.

After the match, Iga Swiatek thanked her team, saying, “I want to thank my team. I don’t know why I won tournaments that were like the last ones in terms of where I thought I would be playing well. So thank you for forcing me to become a better player and learning how to play on these faster surfaces. I’m shocked and super happy. Thank you for the constant support to my team and my family back home.” Surprisingly, this year everyone expected her to do well at her favorite Slam (French Open), but she got eliminated in the SF.

Grass courts have always been Swiatek’s least favorite, but this year, she stunned everyone by winning the Wimbledon Championships. Now, she also manages to find success in Cincinnati. What a turnaround this has been for Iga Swiatek this season!

If we go by the numbers, Iga Swiatek has played 62 matches this season and won 50 out of them. Her incredible title triumph in Cincinnati has now put her above Coco Gauff in the singles ranking. So, Swiatek will start the 2025 US Open as the second seed. Seeing her performance in this tournament, former pro, Lindsay Daveport said, “Gotta start talking about her as THE favorite for the US Open.“

How important was this win for Swiatek before the mega event, and what are her own thoughts about the 2025 US Open?

After Cincinnati triumph, Iga Swiatek shifts her focus to the US Open

Since the Tier format’s introduction in 1990, Iga Swiatek (88.2%, 15-2) holds the best win percentage of any player against WTA Top 10 opponents in WTA-level finals (minimum five finals, excluding team events). She has now won 52 of her 75 matches against the Top 10 players. Swiatek is now perhaps yet again reminding the tennis world why she’s a dominating force on the Tour!

After the match, during the press conference, Swiatek spoke about why this win in Cincinnati is a bit special for her. She said, “I have proven many things to myself throughout my career, but playing well in Cincinnati has always been challenging, on fast, hard courts. It significantly boosts confidence.” She also added, “I am very happy to see the results of all the hard work. Wimbledon convinced me to play in a different way… Maybe everything wasn’t perfect, but mentally I was there to play the best tennis possible at that moment.“

However, if asked to pick one aspect of her game that she would like to improve, Iga Swiatek claimed that she wasn’t too pleased with her serves in this match against Paolini. She hit 8 aces in this match, but committed 7 double faults. Surely, the Pole would look forward to improving a few things in her serve before entering the courts in NY.

She’ll be seen in action alongside Casper Ruud in the mixed doubles event at the 2025 US Open. While sharing her thoughts about the upcoming major tournament, Iga Swiatek said, “It means a lot, but you really need to start from scratch, it’s a very long tournament, so you need to use that confidence and experience you have, but I don’t know what the surface is like, so it’s like starting over. I’m looking forward to leaving and playing tomorrow. The schedule is quite tight; I hope to catch the flight on time.“

Coming to her improvements in Rankings, well, Swiatek stated that she is more focused on improving herself as a player rather than focusing on the rankings. Do you think the new world number 2 will be a real threat to Aryna Sabalenka’s title defense campaign at the US Open?