PREVIEW Cincinnati Open WTA Semi-Finals: Rybakina-Swiatek and Kudermetova-Paolini battle for place in the final
WTA
It has been an exhilarating nine days so far in Cincinnati, with big players suffering upsets, familiar faces making deep runs, and closely fought battles. Throughout all of this, 96 players have been reduced to four, with each of them eyeing glory in the States.
Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek, Veronika Kudermetova, and Jasmine Paolini complete the semi-finals, with them eagerly targeting this golden opportunity to play in a Masters 1000 final.
Elena Rybakina v Iga Swiatek
Two former Grand Slam winners lock horns in Cincinnati. Reigning Wimbledon champion and six-time Grand Slam winner Swiatek is taking on the 2022 Wimbledon winner Rybakina, who has started to find some form again.
After a disappointing string of results, the Kazakh has started to produce some good tennis. Now consecutive Masters 1000 semi-finals after her run in the Canadian Open. She was hoping for better after going into it as the big favourite, but lost out to eventual champion Victoria Mboko. This follows up from a 500 semi in Washington, where she was defeated by a different Canadian, this time former US Open runner-up Leylah Fernandez.
A strong run of wins has put Rybakina back on the map after a disappointing end to 2024, when the drama surrounding her coach Stefano Vukov took precedence. Now back with him, it is looking like she is back to her best. The two-time Masters 1000 winner has previous experience of winning on the big stage, but just two titles in the last 18 months is a poor return from the former world number three.
She fell a set behind in her first three games, but still got the better of Renata Zarazua, Elise Mertens, and Australian Open champion Madison Keys. She then breezed past the world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the quarters, comfortably conquering the Belarusian 6-1, 6-4.
Her semi-final opponent does not come much easier, with Swiatek also back to her best. Before the Wimbledon triumph, she had only made one final this year, losing to Jessica Pegula in the Bad Homburg Open.Since then, she has only come unstuck once, against Danish star Clara Tauson in the Canadian Open round of 16. She has only dropped three sets in her previous 13 matches, and heading into the US Open, she is one of the favourites to snatch the title.
Iga Swiatek celebrating her Wimbledon success
But firstly, her focus is on Cincinnati. A comfortable 6-4, 6-1 win over Russian Anastasia Potapova was followed by a bye through to round four, with her opponent, Marta Kostyuk, pulling out with a wrist injury. Straight set victories against Sorana Cirstea and Anna Kalinskaya followed, easing her way to the last four, where she will compete for her 13th Masters 1000 final.
The pair have faced off 12 times, with Swiatek currently on a four-match winning streak against Rybakina. They last faced off at this year's Roland Garros, where the four-time champion came back from a set down to send Rybakina home.
Match Info:
Elena Rybakina - Iga Swiatek
Start time (local): Not scheduled yet
Start time (your time): Not scheduled yet
Court: P&G Center Court
Tournament: Cincinnati Open
Round: Semifinal
Head-to-Head
| Rybakina | Swiatek | |
|---|---|---|
| H2H Record | ||
| Total Wins | 5 | 7 |
| Win Streak | 0 | 4 |
| Ranking | ||
| Official Ranking | 10 | 3 |
| Race Ranking | 8 | 2 |
| Live Ranking | ||
| Live Ranking | 10 | 3 |
| Live Race Ranking | 7 (+1) | 2 |
| Bios | ||
| Age | 26 (17 Jun 1999) | 24 (31 May 2001) |
| Birthplace | Moscow, Russia | Warsaw, Poland |
| Residence | Moscow, Russia | Raszyn, Poland |
| Height | 6'0" (184cm) | 5'9" (176cm) |
| Weight | 159lbs (72kg) | 152lbs (69kg) |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Turned Pro | 2016 | 2016 |
| Coach | Davide Sanguinetti (2025–) | Wim Fissette (October 2024–present) |
| YTD W/L | 38-15 (72%) | 46-12 (79%) |
| YTD Titles | 1 | 1 |
| Career Titles | 9 | 23 |
| Prize Money | US$ 17,450,937 - 34th in all-time rankings | US$40,596,773 - 3rd in all-time rankings |
| Past Meetings | ||
|
I Swiatek d E Rybakina French Open - Round of 161-6 | 6-3 | 7-5 1 Jun 2025 |
||
|
I Swiatek d E Rybakina WTA Doha - Quarterfinal6-2 | 7-5 13 Feb 2025 |
||
|
I Swiatek d E Rybakina United Cup - Semifinal7-6 | 6-4 4 Jan 2025 |
||
|
I Swiatek d E Rybakina World Tennis League -6-3 21 Dec 2024 |
||
|
E Rybakina d I Swiatek WTA Stuttgart - Semifinal6-3 | 4-6 | 6-3 20 Apr 2024 |
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I Swiatek d E Rybakina WTA Doha - Final7-6 | 6-2 17 Feb 2024 |
||
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I Swiatek d E Rybakina World Tennis League -6-4 21 Dec 2023 |
||
|
E Rybakina d I Swiatek WTA Rome - Quarterfinal2-6 | 7-6 | 2-2 17 May 2023 |
||
|
E Rybakina d I Swiatek WTA Indian Wells - Semifinal6-2 | 6-2 18 Mar 2023 |
||
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E Rybakina d I Swiatek Australian Open - Round of 166-4 | 6-4 22 Jan 2023 |
||
|
E Rybakina d I Swiatek World Tennis League -6-3 | 6-1 24 Dec 2022 |
||
|
I Swiatek d E Rybakina WTA Ostrava - Quarterfinal7-6 | 6-2 24 Sep 2021 |
||
Veronika Kudermetova v Jasmine Paolini
It has been a dream run for Judermetova, who looks to reach her first-ever Masters 1000 singles final. She has previously made it to consecutive semi-finals at Madrid and Rome previously in 2023, but since then, she has failed to bypass the third round. Her last singles final ended in triumph over Pegula in the Pan Pacific Open back in 2023.
The Russian came off Wimbledon with her first Grand Slam in the doubles, paired up with Mertens. She went into the Canadian Open with that success on her back, but succumbed to world number two Coco Gauff in the third round. In Cincinnati, she eased past Dutchwoman Suzan Lamens before an impressive straight-sets win over 2021 Olympic gold medalist Belinda Bencic. Just before her doubles campaign came to an abrupt end, she shocked Tauson in three sets to set up a tie with another seed, Magda Linette.
The Russian, now with just singles on her mind, got past the Pole to set up a tie with qualifier Varvara Gracheva. On the men's side, Terence Atmane had done the unthinkable and reached the semi-finals to face an Italian, but Gracheva could not produce the same incredible feet.
A final beckons for Kudermetova, but she has a tough test in Paolini. After back-to-back singles finals at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the Italian won her first Masters 1000 event in her backyard, defeating Gauff in Rome for a fantastic success. Adding to that, she has won two doubles 1000 titles and succeeded with Sara Errani to win Roland Garros.
Jasmine Paoline will look to add to her previous triumph in Rome
After the disappointing round two exits at Wimbledon and Montreal, the world number nine was determined to come back with a vengeance. Former world number three Maria Sakkari was the first victim, with Ashlyn Krueger also going down in two sets. In a repeat of last year's Wimbledon final, Krejcikova had no answer against the clinical Paolini, managing to win three lonesome games.
The quarter-final would also prove to be a duplicate of a previous final; this time it was Gauff looking for revenge. The American took the upper hand early on, but Paolini clawed her way back into it, making it through to the last four.
The pair have faced off four times, with Kudermetova disposing of her opponent in the last three of them. The last time they met wasin the early stages of this competition in 2021, with the pair completly different players now.
Match Info:
Veronika Kudermetova - Jasmine Paolini
Start time (local): Not scheduled yet
Start time (your time): Not scheduled yet
Court: P&G Center Court
Tournament: Cincinnati Open
Round: Semifinal
Head-to-Head
| Kudermetova | Paolini | |
|---|---|---|
| H2H Record | ||
| Total Wins | 3 | 1 |
| Win Streak | 3 | 0 |
| Ranking | ||
| Official Ranking | 36 | 9 |
| Race Ranking | 35 | 9 |
| Live Ranking | ||
| Live Ranking | 26 (+10) | 9 |
| Live Race Ranking | 24 (+11) | 9 |
| Bios | ||
| Age | 28 (24 Apr 1997) | 29 (4 Jan 1996) |
| Birthplace | Kazan, Russia | Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, Tuscany, Italy |
| Residence | Moscow, Russia | Bagni di Lucca, Tuscany, Italy |
| Height | 5'8" (175cm) | 5'2" (160cm) |
| Weight | 139lbs (63kg) | 117lbs (53kg) |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Turned Pro | 2012 | 2011 |
| Coach | Sergei Demekhine (2012–), Vladimír Pláteník (2021–2023),, Dmitry Tursunov (2023) | Renzo Furlan (until 2025) - Marc López (Apr-Jul 2025) - Federico Gaio (Jun 2025-ongoing |
| YTD W/L | 33-18 (65%) | 29-13 (69%) |
| YTD Titles | - | 1 |
| Career Titles | 2 | 3 |
| Prize Money | US$ 8,887,906 | US$ 11,753,175 |
| Past Meetings | ||
|
V Kudermetova d J Paolini WTA Cincinnati - Round of 646-3 | 6-2 17 Aug 2021 |
||
|
V Kudermetova d J Paolini Australian Open - Qualification4-6 | 6-1 | 6-3 8 Jan 2019 |
||
|
V Kudermetova d J Paolini WTA 125K Hua Hin - Round of 326-1 | 6-4 7 Nov 2017 |
||
|
J Paolini d V Kudermetova WTA Prague - Qualification7-6 | 3-6 | 6-4 29 Apr 2017 |
||
Lucas MichaelTennis Journalist
Lucas Michael is a tennis journalist based in Cambridge, UK, specializing in comprehensive coverage of the ATP and WTA tours. For the past 1.5 years, he has been a core contributor to TennisUpToDate, where he has authored more than 3,000 data-driven match reports, deep-dive analysis pieces, and engaging liveblogs.
Lucas pairs real-time statistical analysis with on-the-ground reporting, frequently traveling to tournaments to cover the action firsthand from the press box and player press conferences. This blend of advanced metrics and direct access allows him to provide sharp context regarding player form, tactical trends, and breaking tour developments.
He holds a BA (Hons) in Sports Journalism. Grounded in core journalistic ethics, Lucas places a strict emphasis on meticulous sourcing, editorial accuracy, and a commitment to updating live content swiftly as verified information emerges.
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