Iga Swiatek filled in a piece of her career tennis puzzle on Monday as she won the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open for the first time with a 7-5, 6-4 defeat of Jasmine Paolini.Paolini dropped serve for 5-6, giving her opponent the chance to produce a love game and claim the opener 7-5 after just under an hour on court.

Iga Swiatek overtook Coco Gauff to become World No. 2 in the latest WTA Rankings released on Tuesday, which will be used for the US Open 2025 draw.

The forehand that grazed the sideline, the temple tap to her team, the sprint around the court. All of it pointed to a player in Iga Swiatek who is as composed as she is ruthless.

With her win over Jasmine Paolini, Iga Swiatek has now racked up 11 WTA 1000 titles putting her second on the list since 2009, with only Serena Williams ahead of her. Serena Williams has racked up 13 titles at this level since 2009, the year the WTA first introduced the Premier Mandatory tier that later became known as WTA 1000 events.

The 2025 Cincinnati Open was defined by both brilliance and misfortune, with Carlos Alcaraz emerging as the men’s champion under unusual circumstances.

Aryna Sabalenka commands the WTA rankings for yet another week heading into the US Open. The World No. 1 is the defending champion in New York.

Iga Swiatek recovered from an early deficit to beat Elena Rybakina 7-5 6-3, while Jasmine Paolini overcame Veronika Kudermetova 6-3 6-7 (2) 6-3 to reach the Cincinnati final.

Iga Swiatek has showcased her class by returning to form in a phase where, historically, she has had a mixed record. The 24-year-old went through a lean patch of more than 12 months after winning the French Open in 2024.