Iga Swiatek has expressed relief after losing to Coco Gauff in the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open, saying it gives her more time to rest ahead of the US Open.

World No. 1 Swiatek was defeated by No. 7 Gauff in a three-set battle at the Western & Southern Open in Ohio. The American won the tiebreak in the opening set, ending a 14-set losing streak against the Polish player. Swiatek then briefly brought it back by claiming the second set before Gauff re-gained the lead to win the match 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4.

This defeat marks the first time in her career that Swiatek has lost to Gauff and the second time in two weeks that the 22-year-old has lost in the semi-finals of a WTA 1000 event, after being knocked out of the Canadian Open last week by eventual champion Jessica Pegula.

Speaking after the match, Swiatek made her exhaustion clear, saying she didn't regret losing that much as it gave her some days off and more time to rest before the last Grand Slam of the year at Flushing Meadows.

This comes after several recent tournaments ended up giving players difficult schedules, leading them to play late into the night or to play several matches on the same day. Swiatek has also played thirteen matches across Europe and North America in the last month.

"I would say my tank of fuel is pretty empty. Honestly, I’m not even going to kind of regret a lot because I’m happy that I’m going to have days off now," she said, before going on to praise her opponent.

"Coco played great tennis. I think her first serve was better than most of the matches we played against each other, it was faster. She played more in [the court], even though she’s risking with that speed.

"I thought technically I did everything right. I was kind of surprised that I missed a couple of shots. But it happens. She really played a good match, so… It wasn’t easy," she said.

Swiatek will now be looking to defend her title at the US Open, hoping to be the first woman to win back-to-back titles at the New York major since Serena Williams did so back in 2014.