Pegula stuns Świątek to reach Cincinnati final
American Jessica Pegula defeated Polish star Iga Świątek in three sets to advance to the Cincinnati WTA 1000 final. The win came despite Świątek entering the match as the bookmakers' favorite.
World No. 3 Jessica Pegula of the United States defeated world No. 5 Iga Świątek of Poland 7:5, 4:6, 6:4 in the semifinal, securing a place in the Cincinnati "WTA 1000" final. Świątek is a former world No. 1.
Before the match, 25-year-old Świątek was considered the favorite, with bookmakers offering odds of 1.40 on her victory. However, 32-year-old Pegula showed resilience, coming back from a 1:3 deficit in the third set.
Match statistics
Pegula outperformed her opponent in several categories: she won 64% of points on her first serve compared to Świątek's 59%, and 42% on her second serve compared to 34%. The overall point count favored the American, 117 to 112. On break points, Pegula converted 7 of 18 opportunities, while Świątek converted 6 of 12. Pegula recorded 4 aces and 2 double faults, compared to 1 ace and 7 double faults for Świątek.
With this result, the head-to-head record between the two players now stands at 6-7 in Świątek's favor.
This marks Pegula's eighth appearance at the Cincinnati tournament, and this is her second final there — she first reached the final in 2024. Świątek, meanwhile, is playing her seventh year at the event and won the title in 2025.
In the other semifinal, American Coco Gauff faced Czech player Sára Bejlek.
