Iga Swiatek storms to Cincinnati Open title over Jasmine Paolini

Iga Swiatek stormed to an 11th WTA 1000 title at the Cincinnati Open, defeating Jasmine Paolini, 7-5, 6-4 in the final on Monday.

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The reigning Wimbledon champion is set to return to No. 2 in the WTA rankings, ensuring she will be seeded second at next week’s US Open, after a one hour and 49-minute victory on Center Court over Paolini, the No. 7 seed.

Swiatek has enjoyed a summer renaissance since surrendering her Roland Garros title in the semifinals back in June; she won a 6-0, 6-0 Wimbledon final on Amanda Anisimova to move within one leg of the Career Grand Slam and rolled into the Cincinnati final without losing a set.

Along the way, she scored impressive wins over No. 25 seed Marta Kostyuk and No. 9 seed Elena Rybakina, booking a sixth career meeting against Paolini for a rematch of their 2024 Roland Garros final.

Though Paolini hasn’t hit the heights of a 2024 breakthrough that saw her reach back-to-back Grand Slam finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the Italian has nonetheless enjoyed a solid 2025, winning her home tournament at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia and rallying from a set down to defeat No. 2 seed Coco Gauff in Cincinnati to reach her third career WTA 1000 final.

Paolini began the match on the front foot, winning the first three games and getting within two points of a 4-0 lead on the third-seeded Swiatek. But Swiateak rebounded for a five-game streak of her own, shaking off a service break at 5-4 to serve out the opening set on the second time of asking.

Swiatek carried that momentum into the second set, emerging from two exchanges of breaks to save two break points in the eighth game and consolidate a 5-3 lead.

Paolini bravely served to stay in the match but Swiatek proved too strong when it came time to serve for the title, powering a pair of forehands into the court to earn two championship points. One last big serve clinched victory for Swiatek, who ran to celebrate with her team.

Swiatek is scheduled to participate in the revamped US Open mixed doubles event tomorrow with partner Casper Ruud.