Swiatek crosses another big title off the list, defeats Paolini to win Cincinnati

There are few things Iga Swiatek has yet to achieve on a tennis court, and the list got shorter Monday in Cincinnati.

After falling behind 3-0 early in the first set, Swiatek rallied to defeat No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4 in 1 hour and 49 minutes to win her first Cincinnati Open title.

She is the first Polish player in the Open era to win a singles title at the event.

For Swiatek, it’s her 24th career Hologic WTA Tour singles title and her 11th at the WTA 1000 level. It’s her second WTA title of 2025, coming a month after she won Wimbledon.

“I don’t know why I win the tournaments that we’re like the last ones in terms of what I thought they were going to be,” Swiatek said at the trophy presentation. “So, thank you [to my team] for forcing me to become a better player and learn how to play on all these faster surfaces.

“I’m kind of shocked and super happy, so thank you for the awesome support, to the team and to my family back home.”

The victory comes just ahead of the US Open, where Swiatek will enter as the No. 2 seed following her Cincinnati title. She entered Monday’s final needing a win to surpass Coco Gauff in the PIF WTA Rankings.

The six-time Grand Slam champion had to work for it.

Paolini started fast, breaking in the opening game and racing to a 3-0 lead. It was at that point she came within millimeters of another break point. But Swiatek’s ball barely clipped the line, keeping her in control of the game.

Swiatek held serve, then won the next four games to go up 5-3. After getting broken while serving for the set, she broke back a couple games later and went on to win the set 7-5.

The second set featured five breaks of serve as the players traded breaks back and forth, but Swiatek, who finished the match a perfect six-for-six converting break points, eventually closed out the match in straight sets.

She improves to 105-0 in completed matches after winning the opening set at WTA 1000 events.

Swiatek didn’t drop a single set en route to the title, a run that included victories over Top 10 players such as Paolini in the final and Elena Rybakina in the semifinals. Since 1990, her winning percentage against WTA Top 10 players trails only Steffi Graf and Serena Williams.

For Paolini, it’s her fifth loss in five matches against Swiatek and her second in a final. Still, her performance was an encouraging sign.

Coming into Cincinnati, Paolini had won just three matches in her past four tournaments. She defeated Grand Slam champions Barbora Krejcikova and Gauff on her way — for the third time in a row — en route to the final. Her run lifts her to No. 8 in the world, giving her a top eight seed at the US Open.

A win Monday would have given Paolini her third career WTA 1000 title. Instead, she'll head to New York along with Swiatek, where both players will have another opportunity to add a big title to their resume.