WTA Cincinnati: Which player will win the tournament?

by Tyler Doty | by Tyler Doty

image WTA Cincinnati: Which player will win the tournament?
From August 13 through August 23, the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati will take center stage in women’s tennis before the season’s fourth and final Grand Slam begins. And the stakes are high, as this is the players’ very last chance to build confidence on hard courts.
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A Tough Defending Campaign for Swiatek

Defending champion Iga Swiatek is in the running at this year’s U.S. tournament, and you can follow the tennis predictions here. On the verge of falling out of the top 10 this year, the 25-year-old has had a somewhat less successful season, notably being eliminated in the round of 16 at the French Open, something that hadn’t happened to her since her debut there in 2019.

The three-time Paris Grand Slam champion also failed to defend her title at Wimbledon this summer, losing in the third round. Although she was in excellent form at the Toronto tournament last week, she likely expended a great deal of energy there and is unlikely to string together another winning streak at this U.S. tournament without getting plenty of rest between the two WTA 1000 events.

Having failed to demonstrate exceptional form in major tournaments this year, her best result being a quarterfinal appearance at the Australian Open, she is likely to be struggling to defend her title against the season’s top players, who will be eager to perform well in their final tournament before the US Open.

Ideal Preparation for Sabalenka

American fans will be treated to a star-studded lineup at this year’s tournament. With the season’s top players in attendance, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka remains the favorite to take home the title. The Belarusian has indeed achieved the remarkable feat of winning back-to-back titles at Indian Wells and Miami this season, allowing her to join the very exclusive club of players who have won the Sunshine Double.

And although she was eliminated in the round of 16 in Toronto last week (by top-20 player E. Alexandrova) Aryna Sabalenka is expected to fare better in this tournament. While she has yet to lift the trophy at any of the three Grand Slams played so far this year (runner-up at the Australian Open, quarterfinalist at Roland Garros, and reaching the round of 16 at Wimbledon), the 28-year-old is under pressure heading into the season’s final Grand Slam, as she is none other than the two-time defending champion of the US Open.

And to be in the best possible shape for the season’s final major event, Aryna Sabalenka needs to prepare effectively and string together wins at this WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati. Already a champion at numerous WTA 1000 tournaments in her career, including Wuhan, Madrid, Indian Wells, and Miami, she has also previously lifted the trophy in front of the American crowd at the Cincinnati tournament in 2024 (against Jessica Pegula).

It’s worth noting that Pegula will be in the other half of the draw and could face the Belarusian in a potential final. This track record should help her bring out her best tennis as she aims to win a second title in the American city. That title actually brought her good luck for the rest of her 2024 season, as she went on to win the US Open and the Wuhan tournament in the following weeks.

Our WTA Cincinnati prediction: Aryna Sabalenka wins the title!