Iga Swiatek is the in-form player on the WTA Tour heading into the US Open after her success in Cincinnati.
Swiatek was congratulated by Jasmine Paolini after the Pole won their Cincinnati Open final on Monday evening.
She triumphed 7-5, 6-4 in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament, clinching her 24th WTA Tour title in the process.
It’s her second of the season, with six-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek having also won Wimbledon earlier this summer.
Swiatek is now focused on the US Open, where she is playing in both the singles and mixed doubles events.
Iga Swiatek sends ‘bad sign’ ahead of the US Open
The Pole is the second seed at the hard-court Grand Slam, and has climbed one spot into world number two following her latest success.
And sharing his verdict on the WTA star after Cincinnati, former player Steve Johnson said on the Nothing Major Show: “She is playing the best, that’s for sure.
“I think it goes back to after the French of her dealing with all the success that she has had in the past four or five years and letting go, and being okay with not being the number one player.
“I think that is hard mentally and emotionally on a player. I think it weighed on her and now at this point she is maybe not talked about.
“Everyone is talking about Coco [Gauff] and [Aryna] Sabalenka, the other players, where it’s like okay let’s forget about Iga for a second. She was kind of in the background. And she is playing extremely well.
“She is playing the best tennis right now and I think if she’s not the favourite going into New York, she will be the second.
“But I think Iga is right there. She is winning all the big tournaments, she is playing well, she has always been a strong competitor. If she can prove this on a faster surface that is a bad sign for everyone else.”
Why Cincinnati champion Iga Swiatek can continue her success at the US Open
The WTA Tour 2025 Grand Slam season was definitely threatening to be a real American success story early on.
Madison Keys superbly won the Australian Open in January as Coco Gauff followed suit at the French Open in June, with Sabalenka the runner-up on both occasions.
But Swiatek ensured that trend didn’t continue at Wimbledon, having overcome another American in the final in Amanda Anisimova.
All hopes will now be on a return to home player success at the US Open, with that scenario likely to work in Swiatek’s favour.
She has gone under the radar in the past and has emerged victorious, seemingly playing her best tennis when out of the limelight.
Her status has certainly increased given her latest titles, but world number one Sabalenka and the American talents are perhaps still gaining more attention as the New York Grand Slam approaches.
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