Swiatek Keeps Rolling, Storms Into Cincinnati After Toronto Triumph

Fresh from her title-winning campaign in Toronto, Iga Swiatek showed little sign of fatigue as she opened her Cincinnati Open campaign with a commanding victory over Colombia’s Emiliana Arango on Sunday.

The second-ranked Swiatek needed just two sets to get past Arango 6-3, 6-0, extending her winning streak to seven matches. The Polish star is also the defending champion in Cincinnati and has made an immediate statement in her bid to retain the title.

Swiatek had only two days to recover after winning the Toronto title on Thursday, but the tight schedule did not appear to trouble her. She said she deliberately spent her limited time before the tournament resting rather than following her usual pre-match routine.

“I knew I just needed a little bit of rest,” Swiatek said after the match.

Top seed Aryna Sabalenka also advanced, defeating Australia’s Talia Gibson 6-2, 7-6 (2). Sabalenka, who has held the world No. 1 ranking for 95 consecutive weeks since October 2024, improved her Cincinnati record to 15-3 since 2022.

Elena Rybakina, ranked No. 2, also began strongly, defeating American Taylor Townsend 6-3, 6-4. Rybakina, who lost to Swiatek in the Toronto final, reached the Cincinnati semifinals last year.

In the men’s draw, Taylor Fritz defeated Alex Michelsen 6-3, 6-4, while Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-5. It was Auger-Aliassime’s first hard-court match since March following a lower-back injury.

American Madison Keys defeated Daria Snigur 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, while sixth-ranked Mirra Andreeva recorded her 40th victory of 2026 by beating Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-0.

Meanwhile, 19-year-old Joao Fonseca became only the third teenager to reach the Cincinnati third round, joining Michael Chang and Pete Sampras.