Coco Gauff wins Cincinnati, and it feels like '23

In just the second all-American women's singles final at the Cincinnati Open since 1970, Coco Gauff defeated Jessica Pegula to win the WTA 1000 event. It was Gauff's second Cincinnati Open title. My @tennistourtalk.bsky.social story 🎾 #tennis #CincyTennis tennistourtalk.com/136989/gauff...

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— Michael Dickens (@michaelcdickens.bsky.social) August 24, 2026 at 5:59 AM

Earlier this month, I wondered--after Rybakina, Andreeva and Noskova--who would be next to win a major in 2026? And after the last couple of weeks in Cincinnati, one would be very likely to say "Coco Gauff." The 22-year-old two-time major champion quite obviously went with the Angie Kerber "identify it, own it, fix it" school of problem-solving, and has brought her game to new level. It seemed almost unreal to see her dismantle Jessica Pegula--who was in peak form throughout the Cincinnati Open--6-2, 6-4 in the final.

This was Gauff's first title of the season, but it was a big one. She won Cincinnati in 2023, too, then went to Flushing Meadows and won the U.S. Open. It could happen again.

In the meantime, Elena Rybakina injured her achilles in Cincinnati and had to retire from her quarterfinal match; one hopes that she'll be healthy for the U.S. Open. And Iga Swiatek, who recently won her first title of the season in Toronto, looked good in Cincinnati, but was stopped by Pegula in a close match in the semifinals. 

The U.S. Open title is certainly up for grabs, but there's no denying now that Gauff is a major contender. 

Few things are inevitable, but this came close

The 2026 Cincinnati Open has given us a number of exciting and deeply competitive matches, plus the bonus of a breakthrough performance by the young Czech player, Sara Bejlek. And in tennis, anything can happen--and often does--but all along, it seemed that it would be very difficult to stop either Jessica Pegula or Coco Gauff. And sure enough, those two will meet in tonight's final.

The semifinal match played between Pegula and defending champion Iga Swiatek was a contest marked by constant momentum shifts, with Pegula finally prevailing at 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. It was the sixth time that the USA's top-ranked player had defeated Swiatek (she is now 6-7 against the Polish star).

Pegula, known among fans as Ms. Consistency (and in Charleston, as Three-Set Jess) is known for her cool head and her patience--the win against Swiatek was Pegula's third consecutive three-set match, and her seventeenth of the season. "I think," Pegula said, "that it's the way that I play."

For her part, Gauff faced an obviously tired Bejlek, who simply did look like the player who had taken out Barbora Krejcikova, top seed Aryna Sabalenka, and Madison Keys. Was it a fitness issue, a heat issue, or--at least partly--an emotional reaction to suddenly being on a very big stage? Most likely, it was a little of each. It didn't help  that Gauff put on what amounted to as an advanced tennis clinic during their match, winning eight of the last nine games, and thrilling spectators with her speed and variety.

Pegula is 5-4 against Gauff, with four of those matches played on hard courts. 

Paths to the final:

COCO GAUFF (4)

round 1--bye

round 2--d. Liudmila Samsonova 

round 3--d. Ann Li (28)

round 4--d. Marie Bouzkova (22)

quarterfinals--d. Marta Kostyuk (10)

semifinals--d. Sara Bejlek

JESSICA PEGULA (3)

round 1--bye

round 2--d. Simona Waltert
round 
round 3--d. Emma Navarro (25
)
round 4--d. Sorana Cirstea (15)

quarterfinals--d. Amanda Anisimova (9)

semifinals--d. Iga Swiatek (7) 

And we have doubles champions: Marie Bouzkova and Linda Noskova defeated Magali Kempen and Alexandra Panova 6-1, 6-2 in the final. This is the Czech team's first title together.

Despite the Czech Curse, Czech tennis keeps on keeping on

🎾 #Tennis #CincyTennis #CincinnatiOpen #CincyOpen Sara Bejlek defeats the WTA #1 Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets. Aryna was cruising up 4 games to 1 & then Sara took the last 5 games. I don't really understand what just happened.

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— Mark Taylor (@emarktaylor.bsky.social) August 19, 2026 at 11:32 PM

Karolina Muchova, probably the most injured player on the tour, withdrew from this year's Cincinnati Open in order to take care of her body in preparation fort the U.S. Open. Muchova has looked good lately, but fans of the Czech artist always hold their collective breath because--the injuries seem to always be lurking in the background. Barbora Krejcikova, victim of the Czech Curse Double--both injury and illness--is back on the tour, but she sometimes appears vulnerable--and tired. Such was the case when she played countrywoman Sara Bejlek in the second round. Bejlek defeated the two-time major champion 7-6 (5), 6-4.

Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova made it to the round of 16, in which she lost in straight sets to an on-fire Amanda Anisimova. But Bejlek was still standing, and would go on to defeat top seed and 2025 champion Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets in that same round. The 20-year-old lefty then went on to defeat Madison Keys in the quarterfinals, in a highly competitive match in which the Czech player was down 3-6, 1-3.  Bejlek is only five feet, three inches tall, but she's very quick, and she plays a great defensive game. (She will undoubtedly gain the "feisty" label from commentators.) 

Bejlek gained a lot of attention this year when--playing as a qualifier, and ranked number 101 in the world-she won the Abu Dhabi title. In that event, she defeated Alona Ostapenko, Clara Tauson and--in the final-- Ekaterina Alexandrova. 

Coco Gauff advanced to the semifinals tonight when she defeated Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-2. This was a match that probably "should" have been more competitive, but Kostyuk' second serve let her down repeatedly.

Defending champion Iga Swiatek has looked good in Cincinnati, and she was the recipient of an unfortunate gift yesterday when opponent Elena Rybakina had to retire from their quarterfinal because of an achillies injury. And in a close, exciting match, Jessica Pegula defeated countrywoman Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (4). 

Here is the semifinal draw:

Sara Bejlek v. Coco Gauff (4)
Jessica Pegula (3) v. Iga Swiatek (7) 

In doubles, the unseeded team of Magali Kempen and Alexandra Panova upset 5th seeds Hsieh Su-wie and Alona Ostapenko in the semifinals, and will face another unseeded team, Marie Bouzkova and Linda Noskova, in the final. 

Iga refuses to shake it off

Swiatek d. Elina Svitolina 6-3 1-6 6-3 in Toronto Iga reaches her 1st final of 2026 She’s also into her 1st Canadian Open final 14th WTA 1000 final 31st final of her career at 25 years old ✅1st final since Seoul 2025 ✅55th top 10 win Back in business 🇵🇱❤️

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— The Tennis Letter (@thetennisletter.bsky.social) August 12, 2026 at 9:36 PM

Iga Swiatek's musical idol, Taylor Swift, has given many gifts to her fans, not the least being a kind of dramatic permission for women to express anger. Even in this so-called "enlightened" and "feminist" age, women's anger is still largely considered something to be hidden. And while anger is an emotion--just like sadness, joy and fear--it's an emotion only when females feel and express it. Men can go into intense rages while accusing women of being "too emotional." (Remember when Marat Safin, who held--and probably still holds--the record for breaking the most rackets, called his sister, Dinara, "too emotional"?)

Swiatek, the former world number 1 who has experienced some tough times in the last year or so, has received the full female athlete treatment among "fans" and social media participants. She's boring (a ridiculous notion--the Polish star is actually a rather delightful, somewhat nerdish character), she's a cheater, she's a has-been, she needs cosmetic surgery, and--who can forget Jimmy Arias criticizing her for wearing a baseball cap because, with the cap on, we can't see her....smile!!?

Last year, many people considered Swiatek "done," but then she went to London and won her first Wimbledon title. That didn't seem to make much of an impression, however, since the "done" talk started again this year. For a long time, there has been criticism of Swiatek's relationship with her sports psychologist, and various fans have projected various meanings onto that relationship. And when the Polish star began to visibly struggle with her emotions while on the court, even serious fans couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she needed a different professional to help her with mental strength and stability.

No one but Iga Swiatek knows whether she is receiving adequate psychological help, and (I'm speaking here as a retired mental health professional), she may not know, either. She changed her coach, and then she changed her coach again. And while that's not at all unusual among WTA players, it does indicate that Swiatek not only recognized that something was wrong, she was doing what she could to make it right. 

This week, the Polish star reached her first final of the season, a fact that still sounds odd, no matter how many times one hears it stated. She dropped only one set in Toronto--to Elina Svitolina--and she defeated Elena Rybakina in straight sets in the final. Granted, Rybakina was very tired because of the way her schedule had gone, but Swiatek nevertheless continued her run of excellent on-court performances.

The victory obviously meant a great deal to Iga, but she was feeling more than joy (the crowd had been screaming "Iga! Iga!") and relief. During the trophy ceremony, she said, "I’m really happy about this tournament. It means so, so much to me because all these past months were not easy. I’m really happy that I kept focusing on growing, changing my game a little bit, improving, despite all the opinions many people have about me every day on the Internet, live." 

She continued:

"I want to dedicate this title to everyone who is dealing with unfair judgment and hate."

Later, Swiatek said that "After I won, I kind of let myself feel it [the anger] a little bit because there are plenty of things that athletes, not only athletes, all the people, have to struggle with. Sometimes we need to fight things that we shouldn’t."

I, for one, was glad to see Angry Iga make an appearance. Those who appreciate both Taylor and Iga will know that--it's no wonder she broke. Unfair judgment and hate are the fuels that make the Internet engine run, and female athletes (and Taylor Swift) are often the targets. It's gratifying to see a Mad Woman take a stand.  

Rybakina, Andreeva, Noskova, and......?

The unpredictability of the WTA is a feature that I enjoy, though--at times--real tennis fans know that the "surprises" aren't surprises at all. This year, for example, two of the tour's most talented upstarts--Mirra Andreeva and Linda Noskova--won majors. And while it was a bit of a surprise that Andreeva's first major victory was achieved on the clay courts of Roland-Garros, it felt to me that her holding a major trophy was something that happened right on time. And while Noskova has remained much more under the radar than Andreeva, it was also only a matter of time before she broke through.

Elena Rybakina, the opposite of an upstart, wasn't a "surprise" champion in Australia, but her months of struggling with illness and coaching issues made her vulnerable. The 2022 Wimbledon champion, who--on a good day--can beat anyone and make it look easy, overcame her problems and burned through the draw, taking out Iga Swiatek, Jessica Pegula, and--in the final--world number 1 and two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka.

Is there a true favorite to win this year's U.S. Open? I don't think so. Defending champion Sabalenka, who also won the event in 2024, will be highly motivated, given that she has yet to win a major this year (she did win the Sunshine Double, which is no small feat). Rybakina, Andreeva, Noskova, and Sabalenka are all hard court threats. But these are not the only contenders.

Jessica Pegula has never won a major, though every year, she appears to be closer to doing so. I've always thought that the U.S. Open would provide her with her best opportunity, and the world number 3, whose steadiness and consistency has served her well for a long time, is certainly a contender. 

Is Swiatek a contender? I say yes. The former world number 1, who won the event in 2022, has had a hard time of it lately, and is currently not considered a major contender at any big event. But things can change. Last year, when so many people said that she was in a major slump, she went to London and won Wimbledon. And while 2026 may not be the year that Swiatek gets it together again, it wouldn't be a total surprise if she did.

2023 champion Coco Gauff can certainly be considered a contender, though she has yet to win any kind of title this year. She did, however, reach the semifinals at Wimbledon. Gauff reached the U.S. Open round of 16 in 2024 and 2025, losing to Emma Navarro and Naomi Osaka, respectively. 

And then there's Alex Eala, the 21-year-old lefty from the Philippines, who has become the rising star on the tour. Eala just won her first tour title--a WTA 500 event--in which she defeated Pegula in the final in Washington, DC. She also reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon, after upsetting Swiatek in the third round. Eala's rise reminds me somewhat of Garbine Muguruza's--there is a sense of inevitability about her game. She will certainly be a threat at the U.S. Open.

Mentioning contenders and including only one Czech player who isn't named "Krejckova" or "Muchova" feels strange. Muchova, as long as she stays healthy, is hardly a long shot to win any major. Two-time major champion Krejickova, who has reached the U.S. Open quarterfinal twice, should be a contender. However, she still doesn't appear to be back to the form that she was in prior to her falling to the Czech Curse of chronic injury and illness. 

There are others who could make big appearances the second week of the U.S. Open. Marta Kostyuk comes to mind immediately. Kostyuk's athleticism, combined with her much-improved mental strength, could help her to go far. Elina Svitolina and Iva Jovic are also two to watch. 2025 runner-up Amanda Anisimova isn't in the same form that she was in last year, but she also shouldn't be counted out. And--for all we know--someone could come "out of nowhere" to claim the year's last major title.