How much prize money can Swiatek and Paolini seal for winning Cincinnati Open 2025 ATP and WTA

The Cincinnati Open begins with more than $9 million in prize money for the men and over $5 million for the women. It will be the second combined WTA and ATP Masters 1000 event of the North American hardcourt swing, with an eye on the US Open, which will be played from August 7-18.

The tournament began this Thursday with the first round, although the big names of the tournament will only start their debuts this Saturday. Aryna Sabalenka, Iga Swiatek, and Coco Gauff are among the favorites for the women, while the men's draw features the return of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz as favorites in their first tournament since the Wimbledon final.

It is the 7th Masters 1000 tournament of the year and the 8th WTA 1000. This year's tournament features extended draws of 96 players, of which 32 are seeded and received a first-round bye. For most of the big stars, it will be the last event they will play on hardcourts before the US Open, which will begin a week after the respective finals in Cincinnati.

There is not much doubt that Sinner and Alcaraz are the heavy favorites for the title. In the last three tournaments they attended, the two ended up meeting in the final, with Alcaraz taking the victory at Rome and Roland Garros, while Sinner took the title at Wimbledon. The Italian is probably a slight favorite over the Spaniard, considering his greater comfort playing on hardcourts, his recent Wimbledon title, and the fact that he is the defending champion in Cincinnati.

The absence of stars like Novak Djokovic and Jack Draper will take away a couple of the most threatening players on the Tour currently.

In addition to the obvious favoritism of the top 2, American stars Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton have good chances of fighting for the title. In fact, Shelton arrives with impeccable confidence after winning his first Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open a couple of days ago, defeating Karen Khachanov in the final. Other big names include Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur, Lorenzo Musetti, and Casper Ruud among those who will seek to fight for the title before the start of the US Open.

Aryna Sabalenka returns to the courts after skipping Montreal, but she is still the favorite in this part of the year. After a loss in the Wimbledon semifinals to Amanda Anisimova, she decided to take a break for a few weeks and returns this week in Cincinnati for the only hardcourt tournament she will have as preparation for the US Open. The defending champion will have to show why she is the hardcourt favorite and begins the mission of defending the world No. 1 ranking, in the middle of a month where she is defending a good amount of points and after seeing how Gauff and Swiatek have closed the gap in recent months.

The most recent Grand Slam champions, Gauff (French Open) and Swiatek (Wimbledon), have the confidence and great results on hardcourts from the past. The three appear to be a step ahead of the rest of the competitors and are the ones with the best chances of fighting for the $750k prize. Local Americans Jessica Pegula, Amanda Anisimova, and Madison Keys are other names to follow, in addition to stars like Elena Rybakina, Jasmine Paolini, and Elina Svitolina among those who are in good form to try to surprise in the tournament.