Paolini Tests Swiatek's Consistency in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, SUNDAY – The 2025 competition season is different for Iga Swiatek compared to previous years. After consistently failing to reach the finals in the year following her victory at the 2024 French Open, the Polish female tennis player will appear in the finals for the third time out of four tournaments within a span of two months.

Swiatek will compete in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, United States, on Monday (18/8/2025) evening local time or early Tuesday morning Indonesia time. Her opponent is Jasmine Paolini, a finalist in the French Open and Wimbledon 2024 Grand Slam tournaments.

The match will be an opportunity for them to become champions for the first time in one of the warm-up tournaments for the US Open Grand Slam. For Paolini, a victory would hold greater significance as she has always lost in their five previous encounters with Swiatek. Paolini has only managed to win one set out of a total of 11 sets.

"I have to play at a very high level against Iga in the final. I need to focus on myself and improve my game compared to our previous meeting. I must play well from the start, striving to play aggressively," said Paolini on the official WTA website, after defeating Veronika Kudermetova with a score of 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-3 in the semifinals.

Despite being dominant in previous meetings, Swiatek has never underestimated the Italian tennis player. With a petite stature (standing at 163 cm) compared to most other players, Paolini is able to move nimbly on all types of courts.

"Jasmine is a tennis player who can move quickly. Not only that, she also has a lot of shot variations and tactics, such as moving well to the net. I have to prepare the right tactics," said Swiatek, who won 7-5, 6-3 against Elena Rybakina in the semifinals.

For Swiatek, her first final at the WTA Cincinnati marks her third final in the last four tournaments. In the third week of June, she reached the final of the WTA Bad Homburg, which was her first final on grass, but lost to Jessica Pegula.

Three weeks later, Swiatek won Wimbledon, marking her sixth title from the Grand Slam arena. She successfully overcame the mental challenges of playing on grass courts despite being the junior women's singles champion at Wimbledon in 2018. The championship title was secured after defeating Amanda Anisimova with a score of 6-0, 6-0.

At first, I was surprised that I could hold my own in such a fast-paced match. - Iga Swiatek -

The win-loss statistics over the past two months stand at 89.5 percent, resulting from 17 wins and two losses. This percentage has increased from 76.2 percent (32 wins-10 losses) from six months prior.

The journey this year is different from previous years when Swiatek performed well in the first six months during the clay court season. As a player with superior skills on clay compared to her competitors, Swiatek has four titles at the French Open (2020, 2022, 2023, 2024).

However, since winning the Suzanne Lenglen trophy on the clay courts of Roland Garros, Paris, in 2024, Swiatek has not been dominant. She has consistently failed to reach the finals over the past year, including in the 2025 clay tournaments, namely the WTA 1000 Madrid (Swiatek lost in the semifinals), WTA 1000 Rome (third round), and the French Open (semifinals). She was also dropped from the top two rankings in the world in May 2025 after having maintained that position for more than three consecutive years.

Winning the Wimbledon title, a moment where she could release the pressure on herself, was a turning point for the 24-year-old. Facing Rybakina in the WTA Cincinnati semifinals, Swiatek won the first set after trailing 3-5. Rybakina, however, is a player who possesses a strong hardcourt advantage, particularly her powerful serve. Her forehand is also fast and flat.

"Initially, I was surprised to be able to endure the match at such a high speed. We played with high intensity, and I could not afford to be careless even for a moment," said Swiatek.

The men's singles championship title at the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 will be contested by two of the best tennis players, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The match, which will take place before the final between Swiatek and Paolini, marks the 14th meeting between Sinner and Alcaraz since they began competing on the ATP Tour in 2021.

Their dominance in the high-level men's singles competition has led Sinner and Alcaraz to consistently face each other in the finals of their last five encounters, four of which occurred this year. Alcaraz has won three finals (also leading 8-5 overall), but he will not forget the outcome of their last meeting before competing in Cincinnati.

That meeting occurred in the Wimbledon final, which presented Alcaraz with a chance to complete a hat trick of titles. However, Sinner defeated him 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

The result was revenge for Sinner's loss to Alcaraz in the French Open final three weeks earlier. Alcaraz saved three match points from Sinner in an epic five-set final lasting five hours and 29 minutes.

"I am very excited about the upcoming final. Jannik won in our last meeting, I won in the two previous finals. The Cincinnati final will be our first on hard court this year, and I am looking forward to the challenge," said Alcaraz.

Alcaraz acknowledged that Sinner is more favored to win on hard courts such as those at the Lindner Family Tennis Center used for the ATP/WTA Cincinnati tournament. In five matches from the second round to the semifinals, Sinner has always won in two sets, while Alcaraz has played three sets twice.

Nevertheless, there is a factor that can be considered an excuse. Alcaraz faced an opponent who was generally tougher compared to the tennis player who faced Sinner. In the second round, Alcaraz played against the experienced ATP Tour player, Damir Dzumhur, and had to compete in three sets with scores of 6-1, 2-6, 6-3.

In the quarter-finals, Andrey Rublev forced him to play three sets, while Sinner faced Felix Auger-Aliassime, whose performance was below that of Rublev.

"The final against Carlos will be a very, very difficult match. I hope it can be a high-level match. This is not only good for the spectators but also for us as players. Let's see what will happen in the final later," said Sinner. (afp/reuters)