The ‘Wall’ Finally Down, Sabalenka Breaks Through To First Cincinnati Open Title

By Richard Osborn

A three-time Cincinnati Open semifinalist, Aryna Sabalenka had been on the verge of a tournament breakthrough for years, having stalled in the final four in 2018, 2022 and again in 2023.

On a breezy Monday afternoon at the Lindner Tennis Center, the 5-foot-10 baseliner with the tiger tattoo put that all behind her, finally, in her own words, ‘breaking down the wall’ that had kept her from the coveted Rookwood Cup via a 6-3, 7-5 cooling of red-hot American Jessica Pegula.

“I’m super-happy to get this title,” said Sabalenka.

“I’ve been trying so many times here in Cincinnati. I’m really playing great tennis, probably not the best tennis I can play, but I’m definitely getting there. With every match I played, I felt better and better and better. Hopefully, at the US Open, I can keep building that level.”

The sixth-seeded Pegula came into the final riding an eight-match win streak, one that included the WTA 1000 title in Toronto. She was aiming to become only the second player in the Open Era to capture back-to-back women’s singles crowns at the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open. (The last to pull it off was Australian Evonne Goolagong in 1973.) But Sabalenka simply proved too overpowering, upping her head-to-head advantage to 5-2. She would finish with 10 aces and win 91 percent (31 of 34) of her first-serve points in the one-hour, 15-minute contest.

“When she’s serving really well, it makes it really tough,” said Pegula, who is set to rise to No. 6 in the WTA rankings. “And she was really going for her shots. Sometimes you run into players when they’re doing that and they’re feeling confident and it’s really tough to combat. She’s tough, especially on these fast courts. It’s hard to draw out the point and get her moving when she’s playing first-strike tennis really well, and not making a lot of errors either. Kudos to her: I feel like this whole week she’s played some incredible tennis.”

In fact, the No. 3 seed didn’t drop a set all week. Her most high-profile win came in the semifinals against top seed and world No. 1 Iga Swiatek, 6-3, 6-3, only her fourth decision over the Pole in 12 career encounters.

Though she at times looked unbeatable, Sabalenka says she never goes into a match overconfident.   

“I feel like I’m in the zone. But with tennis, you cannot be confident even if you’re playing your best tennis,” she explained. “Things can turnaround. I was trying to focus to keep playing my best tennis, keep fighting for every point, trying to close these matches in two sets.”

With the title, Sabalenka will leapfrog 2023 Cincinnati Open champion Coco Gauff and return to No. 2 in the WTA rankings. The two-time Australian Open champion and former No. 1 secured her sixth WTA 1000 crown and her first on a hard court since Doha in 2020.

Asked if she would treat herself to a reward for her accomplishments in Cincinnati, the 26-year-old Sabalenka said, “Because I’m kind of getting older, there’s no more sweets.”

No, she said, she’ll instead treat herself to some tequila and her own spin on a Margarita: The Margaryna.

Perfect.