Aryna Sabalenka overcame nine match points but ultimately triumphed over world number one Iga Swiatek with a 6-3, 6-3 victory on Sunday, securing her first-ever spot in the final of the WTA and ATP Cincinnati Open. Sabalenka, who has previously reached the semifinals four times in Cincinnati, will rise to second in the WTA rankings with just a week remaining before the US Open begins. Reflecting on her win, Sabalenka said, “I finally broke the barrier. It was such a tough battle with Iga, and we also had to be patient with the weather.”
The match saw several brief interruptions due to rain, requiring the court lines to be dried with towels.
Sabalenka will face US sixth seed Jessica Pegula in Monday’s final. Pegula secured her place in the final with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 win over Spain’s Paula Badosa. Pegula, who won the Toronto title last week, is now the third American in the Open Era to reach both the Canadian and Cincinnati finals in the same year, following in the footsteps of Rosie Casals (1970) and Serena Williams (2013).
Sabalenka faced a tough challenge in closing out the match against Swiatek, who fought back fiercely in the final stages. Despite leading 5-1 in the second set, Sabalenka was broken for 5-3 but ultimately secured the victory with a break on her 10th match point after nearly two hours of play.
“That was a brilliant performance from me. I’m really happy with the win, especially against Iga,” Sabalenka said. “We always have tough battles, and to get this win in straight sets… that’s a big achievement for me.”
In Pegula’s semifinal match against Badosa, a rain delay of over an hour occurred midway through the second set with Badosa leading 4-3. After the delay, Badosa forced a third set, but Pegula broke for 5-3 in the third set and served out the match for the win.
“We had tough conditions, but I was able to not get frustrated with the rain delay,” Pegula said. “Paula was hitting so hard, I didn’t know what to do sometimes. I had to remind myself to be aggressive and serve well. I knew it would be hard to break her. But I played a couple of good points and was able to serve it out.”
Looking ahead to the final, Pegula said she expects to “give Sabalenka some trouble” and sees the match as a good test.
Sabalenka’s win served as a form of revenge after her losses to Swiatek in Masters-level clay finals at Madrid and Rome last spring. Swiatek acknowledged that Sabalenka played better on the day, saying, “Aryna was just playing better today and using her advantages. I didn’t serve well at the beginning, which threw me off my rhythm. For sure, it wasn’t a good performance for me.”
Despite the loss, Swiatek noted that she played better overall than she had expected and is already focusing on her preparations for the US Open in New York.
