By Dominique Olaleye
The Cincinnati Open is an annual event held in the United States that usually attracts many of the current top-ranked players. It is the third-largest American tennis event after the US Open and Indian Wells. Scheduled a couple of weeks before the final Grand Slam of the year, it serves as a great warm-up event for players to find their form. Previous winners include tennis legends John McEnroe, Roger Federer, Serena Williams, and Kim Clijsters.
This year’s singles tournament had its fair share of upsets, surprises, and controversies. The event concluded with two new champions lifting the trophy for the first time, but not before we witnessed debate-worthy decisions and shocking surprises in the draw.
Women’s Event
Round One saw the top 8 seeds receive a bye through to the next round, but 17th seed Beatriz Haddad Maia from Brazil was not as protected and lost in three sets to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, who made a great run to the quarterfinals. Pavlyuchenkova’s route to the quarters included a straight-sets victory over Olympic Gold medallist and 7th seed, Zheng of China, before losing to Paula Badosa from Spain. Badosa appears to be finding her form during this hard-court season and has returned to the top 30 in the singles rankings for the first time since 2023 after her return from injury. Olympic Silver medallist Donna Vekic [16] was also unable to make it past the first round, losing to American Anna Krueger in three sets. Emma Navarro [11] lost to Mirra Andreeva in a convincing straight-sets win for the young 17-year-old. Andreeva has been labelled as “one to watch” for the future, and we can see why, as she reached the quarterfinals, defeating big names who stood in her way. Before losing in a three-set battle to top seeded Iga Swiatek, Andreeva defeated Karolina Pliskova and Jasmine Paolini [5]. Paolini and Andreeva met recently in the Women’s Doubles Final at the Olympics, but the Italian came out on top in that event to claim Gold.
Round Two saw solid victories for Swiatek [1], Sabalenka [3], Pegula [6], Samsonova [10], Kostyuk [15], and Svitolina, but less could be said for 8th seed Jelena Ostapenko. The powerful Ostapenko could not keep up with the unseeded Elina Avanesyan, who stunned the Latvian in three sets. Daria Kasatkina [9] was no match for wildcard Taylor Townsend, losing in three sets to the American. Badosa sailed past 13th seed Kalinskaya, while former US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez beat former Wimbledon Champion and fourth seed, Elena Rybakina. However, the upset of the tournament so far came with Kazakhstani Yulia Putintseva’s victory over defending Cincinnati Open and US Open champion Coco Gauff. Putintseva has an impressive track record against top-seeded players, which includes beating Swiatek at Wimbledon earlier this year. However, we should not overlook Coco’s recent dip in performance since Wimbledon. Coco’s form has been uncharacteristic recently, with particular struggles on her forehand side. Gauff made her WTA debut aged 15 in 2019 and is still only 20 years old. We must not forget that she is still a very young player on the tour and may be feeling the added pressures and expectations after winning her maiden Grand Slam at last year’s US Open. Gauff has become a big name both in and out of the sport, and she was selected to be a flag bearer at the Paris Olympics for Team USA. Many of her fans hope that her form and confidence will recover with home crowd support as she begins her title defence at the US Open, starting on August 26th.
Round Three was the furthest that Zheng and Paolini would reach as they both lost to unseeded players; the remainder of the draw remained relatively unscathed. Quarterfinals day saw Swiatek [1], Sabalenka [3], Pegula [6], and Badosa advance to claim their spots in the semifinals.
The semifinals gave fans a twelfth meeting between Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka, with the number one seed leading their head-to-head 8-3 ahead of the match. Despite this, it soon became clear that Sabalenka’s form had truly returned as she beat Swiatek in straight sets for the first time (6-3, 6-3). The second semi-final between Pegula and Badosa was their second meeting, with Pegula having won their first encounter in straight sets. Unfortunately for Badosa, while she was able to take the match to a third set this time, Pegula ultimately overpowered her opponent to set up a final against Sabalenka. Reaching the final backed up Pegula’s impressive run at the Canadian Open, where she defended her title and lifted the trophy. The final lasted just 76 minutes, with Sabalenka winning the match, lifting the trophy, and ending Pegula’s nine-match winning streak. This title is Sabalenka’s first since January’s Australian Open, and she will return to number 2 in the world rankings. Entering the US Open, her form is impressive, so we will see if she can go one better than last year when she fell to Gauff in the final.
Men’s Event
The men’s event was equally filled with drama and excitement. The first round saw seeds Paul [10], Fritz [11], Humbert [13], and Korda [16] all defeated by unseeded opponents. Like in the women’s event, the top 8 men received a bye into the second round. Round Two saw even more seeded players making early exits. Dimitrov [8] lost in three sets to Marozsan, while former US Open champion Medvedev [4] lost in straight sets to Lehecka. Lorenzo Musetti [14] has been in excellent form this year, reaching the semifinals of both Wimbledon and the Olympics – losing to Novak Djokovic in both – however, he was overcome by American crowd favourite Frances Tiafoe. Felix Auger-Aliassime (FAA) comfortably beat Casper Ruud [7] 6-3, 6-1 to face Jack Draper in the next round. Draper defeated Tsitsipas [9] in three sets.
The upset of Round Two, and perhaps the championship, came from French Open and Wimbledon winner and Olympic Silver medallist Carlos Alcaraz [2], who lost in three sets to the experienced Frenchman, Gael Monfils. After a rain suspension during the second-set tiebreak, 37-year-old Monfils forced the 21-year-old Spaniard into a third set and came out on top – “unexpected, to be honest,” in his own words. The final score was 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4. Alcaraz, for the first time on tour, lost his composure and visibly showed his frustration by repeatedly smashing his racket on the court. For this action, he received a code violation during the match and later took to X (formerly Twitter) to apologize for his attitude and behaviour. Monfils advanced to play Rune [15] and fought hard in a three-set encounter, but he was unable to conquer the Dane after only a few hours of recovery from his previous match.
The third round brought success for seeds Sinner [1], Zverev [3], Hurkacz [5], Rublev [6], and Shelton [12]. Unseeded Tiafoe beat Lehecka in three sets, while Jack Draper narrowly beat Auger-Aliassime in a controversial match-ending. On match point to Draper, FAA claimed to officials that the volley that won Draper the match had hit the ground before going over the net. The umpire called “Game, Set, and Match,” declaring that it was a “fair shot,” much to the disapproval of the Canadian. At the Cincinnati Open, there are no video replays, so the players and officials on the court could not review the events at the time, much to the disappointment of many. Since the controversy, many have taken to social media to debate what they believe happened, with many claiming Draper knew he had made an error, hence why he was willing to replay the point. FAA has since been positive about the events, writing on Instagram:
“Unfortunate ending of my tournament here in Cincinnati, but I hope we find a way to deal with these situations in a more objective way going forward. Time to move on and focus on my preparation for the US Open.”
Many players and famous figures commented on this post, showing their support for the recent Olympic Bronze medallist. Tennis fans across the world are calling this point one of the most controversial in tennis history!
The quarterfinals were significantly less controversial, with Sinner [1] dominating Rublev [6] in three sets, much like Zverev [3] against Shelton [12]. Rune was too much for Britain’s Draper, closing the match 6-4, 6-2, while Hurkacz [5] was forced to retire against Tiafoe after trailing by a set, 3-6. Semifinals day was an exciting event for fans, as both matches went to three sets. Top seed Jannik Sinner beat Sascha Zverev [3] in a tight and fiercely competitive match. The final score was 7-6 (9), 5-7, 7-6 (4), and the match lasted over three hours. Although Zverev did not emerge victorious, he should take great confidence going into the US Open. The second semi-final was won by Tiafoe after Rune won the first set. The final score was 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4) and was the pair’s first head-to-head. Tiafoe came from 5-2 down in the final set, becoming the first American man to reach the final in Cincinnati since John Isner in 2013. Due to rain delays throughout the event, the men’s final was played on Monday, which is rare in Cincinnati tournament history. The Italian lifted the trophy, defeating the American 7-6 (4), 6-2. Sinner’s health has been concerning recently; he missed the Olympics because of this and has had to withdraw from other events as well. Despite not being 100% healthy, he has still just won a Masters 1000 event, so he should carry great confidence going into the US Open, as he is definitely one to watch.
