It means a lot, says Iga Swiatek after clinching Cincinnati Open title

Dubai: Iga Swiatek said her win over No 7 Jasmin Paolini that helped her secure the first ever Cincinnati Open title 'meant a lot,' particularly given her near misses at Cincinnati in the past years.

“It means a lot to me,” Swiatek said. “This year I really wanted it. I’m just very happy. It’s nice to check off the list another tournament that I haven’t won. I have friends here. It's a nice, relaxed tournament before New York."

The third-ranked defeated Paolini defeated No 7 Paolini 7-5, 6-4 on Monday night.

Swiatek had never made it past the semi-finals in her six previous appearances in Cincinnati. She reached the final four in each of the last two years but was stopped by eventual champions — Coco Gauff in 2023 and Aryna Sabalenka in 2024.

“This season hasn’t been easy,” she admitted. “I’ve had areas to improve. It’s not easy to win tournaments when everyone expects you to.”

The final didn’t start smoothly for Swiatek, as Paolini jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening set. But the four-time Grand Slam champion quickly rallied, winning five of the next six games to go up 5-3. Although Paolini broke back to level at 5-5, Swiatek closed out the first set in 56 minutes.

In the second set, Swiatek’s eighth ace gave her a 5-3 lead. Despite Paolini breaking her serve twice and closing the gap to 5-4, Swiatek held her nerve to serve out the match, sealing her 24th career singles title.

While Swiatek struggled with seven double faults—compared to just two from Paolini — she also fired nine aces, while Paolini recorded none.

“When the rallies were going, I felt good on the court,” Paolini said. “But the serve made the difference. When she needed an ace, she hit an ace.”

Swiatek remains undefeated against Paolini, winning all six of their encounters and dropping just one set across those matches.

Despite the loss, it was a milestone tournament for Paolini, who became the first Italian woman to reach the Cincinnati Open final. Her rise has been remarkable since entering the tournament as a qualifier just a year ago. In that time, she’s reached two Grand Slam singles finals, captured a Grand Slam doubles title, and won Olympic gold.

“It was definitely a positive tournament for me,” Paolini said. “It wasn’t enough, of course. I just need to keep improving.”

The Cincinnati Open is widely regarded as a key warm-up event for the US Open, which begins Sunday in New York. Notably, the past two Cincinnati champions in both the men’s and women’s draws have gone on to win the year’s final Grand Slam.

On the men’s side, Carlos Alcaraz claimed the title earlier Monday after Jannik Sinner retired due to illness in the first set.