Sabalenka notches first straight sets win over Swiatek for Cincinnati final

Aryna Sabalenka played one of the best match of her tennis career on Sunday in Ohio after beating Iga Swiatek in straight sets for the first time.

The world No.3 Aryna Sabalenka defeated No.1 Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 in the Cincinnati Open semifinals to reach a maiden final in America.

Into her fifth Hologic WTA Tour final of the season, Sabalenka will overtake Coco Gauff to return to No.2 on the PIF WTA Rankings on Tuesday. She is projected to be the No.2 seed at the US Open.

Sabalenka will also pass Elena Rybakina to move to No.2 on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard behind Swiatek, who has already secured qualification for the season-ending event.

Heading into Sunday, Sabalenka had lost her first three semifinal appearances in Cincinnati. She made her first final four in 2018 (l. Halep) and made back-to-back semifinals in 2022 (l. Garcia) and 2023 (l. Muchova). By earning her fourth win over Swiatek and fifth over a reigning No.1, Sabalenka will play her ninth WTA 1000 final on Monday.

Sabalenka will face either No.6 Jessica Pegula or Paula Badosa in Monday’s final. Victory would net Sabalenka her 15th WTA title and first since her successful defense at the Australian Open in January.

The victory snapped a three-match losing streak to Swiatek and avenged her back-to-back WTA 1000 final losses in Madrid and Rome, closing the gap in the head-to-head to 8-4. Three of Sabalenka’s four wins have come on hard court.