By Richard Pagliaro | Saturday, August 22, 2026
Photo credit: Cincinnati Open Facebook
Careening corner to corner in a desperate sprint, Jessica Pegula flashed a bolt of brilliance in the final set.
Smacking a running forehand winner down the line to level the decider, Pegula delivered some statement shotmaking even under extreme duress.
Down a break in the final set, Pegula roared through five of the final six games dethroning defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 winning an enthralling encounter to reach her second Cincinnati Open final in the last three years.
Both women showed tremendous competitive character in a match that spanned two hours, 47 minutes and featured a combined 13 service breaks.
Ultimately, Pegula’s fitness, fierce resilience and some courageous shot-making under pivotal pressure helped Pegula battle into her ninth career WTA 1000 final.
The third-seeded Pegula snapped Swiatek’s 10-match winning streak denying the Pole’s quest to become just the second defending champion in the Open Era to reach the Cincinnati final after Serena Williams, who swept successive Cincinnati crowns in 2014-2015.
A heavy forehand strike brought Pegula match point and she slid a slice serve down the T to end it.
Pegula improved to a WTA-best 45-11 on the season, including 7-5 vs. Top 10 opponents, as she plays for her third title of the season tomorrow night.
The 32-year-old Pegula will play either her former doubles partner, fourth-ranked Coco Gauff, or 20-year-old Czech left-hander Sara Bejlek, who has beaten three Grand Slam champions en route to her maiden WTA 1000 semifinal.
Beneath an unruly sky, the serve was under constant threat at the outset.
Two snipers on return combined for five straight service breaks to open this semifinal. Pegula exploited a double fault and drew successive errors breaking again for 3-2.
The third seed stamped the first hold of the day at love for a 4-2 lead 25 minutes into the match.
Settling in, Swiatek stabilized snatching three games in a row and her first lead—at 5-4—after 41 minutes.
At crunch time, Pegula played with more clarity and calm. Challenging the Pole’s topspin forehand, Pegula earned a second break point when Swiatek slapped a forehand into the bottom of the net.
Then Swiatek blinked, sending her fifth double fault of the set deep as Pegula broke for 6-5.
Serving for the set, Pegula induced an inside-out forehand error for break point. Swiatek was in complete command of the ensuing point when Pegula flicked back a desperate lob.
Standing a few feet from net, Swiatek badly butchered a forehand volley as a stunned Pegula took the gift and a fierce 63-minute first set.
Squealing sneakers signalled the effort from both women as a stubborn Swiatek swept aside three break points holding for a 2-1 second-set lead.
The former No. 1 broke for 4-2 only to see Pegula break back in the seventh game.
Battling through a punishing 12-point game, Swiatek stood tall holding for 5-4 then ratcheting up pressure on the American.
Dropping a forehand bomb down the line brought Swiatek a break and set point. When a weary Pegula netted a forehand, Swiatek seized the second set and forced a third after two hours, two minutes.
Facing a one-break deficit at 1-3 in the decider, Pegula broke right back.
A sweaty, sticky scrap hit a higher level of intensity in the sixth game.
After two-and-a-half hours of physical play, Pegula showed why she’s an elite player streaking corner to corner than cracking that clean Sampras-esque running forehand to hold with a bang for 3-All.
The Pegula return game punished Swiatek into a triple break point hole in ninth game. Swiatek saved all three break points, but sent a forehand long then spit up her seventh double fault of the day to cede the break and a 5-4 lead.
A calm Pegula threw down a strong hold to end the six-time Grand Slam champion’s reign in two hours, 47 minutes in one of the fiercest battles of the tournament.
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