WTA Preview 2023 Cincinnati Open: Last big warm-up ahead of US Open including Swiatek, Rybakina, Sabalenka, Pegula and Gauff
WTASunday, 13 August 2023 at 13:27
With the draw now made, the preview is here for the 2023 Cincinnati Open (also known as the Western & Southern Open) which will take place between August 14-20 in Mason, Ohio.
Caroline Garcia is the defending champion and we will run through the main talking points ahead of another week of Masters 1000 action, the last before the US Open.
Swiatek, Rybakina, Samsonova and Pegula in pole position
Going into this next week as of time of writing, four players are still involved at the Canadian Open who will go into Cincinnati next week off the back of superb runs.
Those being World Number One, Iga Swiatek. She lost to Madison Keys last year in the Last 16 but is number one seed and comes into Cincinnati off the back of winning Warsaw and being in the semi-finals (at least in Montreal).
She will also of course go into the US Open as the favourite for the title and to retain her Flushing Meadows triumph from 12 months ago.
But she could face a familiar foe early. Danielle Collins lost to Swiatek in the Quarter-Finals in Canada in a resurgent run for the American and a second round tie could be on the card.
'Danimal' faces off against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in the first round. Jessica Pegula will be one of two home favourites with Coco Gauff. The former gets Bernarda Pera or a qualifier.
While Elena Rybakina despite playing late most evenings this week and having issues with her shoulder and arm will also figure as one of the favourites. A tough examination also awaits with Jelena Ostapenko or Karolina Pliskova.
After her disappointment of again not getting World Number One, Aryna Sabalenka will face Magda Linette or a qualifier aiming to reach some form ahead of the US Open.
Wozniacki - Svitolina, Brady-Vekic and Williams-Kudermetova top first round clashes
As well as the top seeds, there are top names who will come back to the fore at Cincinnati. Including the main clash of two mothers who have been full of praise for each other this week in Caroline Wozniacki and Elina Svitolina.
The winner of that clash will face Daria Kasatkina or home hope Peyton Stearns. While Jennifer Brady who showed so much in her full Masters 1000 return gets Donna Vekic.
Also Venus Williams will figure in Cincinnati, with the legend spending more time finding lost bags than on court recently. But she will hope to head to Cincinnati with her luggage and a confidence ahead of the US Open.
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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- "This of course a stark change to Rybakina who is obviously more timid..." That just may be the dumbest thing ever written about Lena. For a CCO, Mr. Gill seems to have either made an error in judgement -- or needed filler for this article -- to say something so ridiculous.
mandoist13-09-2026 - “The way I like to put it – no disrespect to anybody – is that this is her house, and all the other girls are just guests, and it’s time for them to go home” Well now... seems John Stacy has made a complete ass of himself. Doubt he'll be receiving any invitations to Lena's "house" any time soon.mandoist13-09-2026
- I am sorry, but Sabalenka has NO EXCUSE for her despicable behaviour. She lacks self and mouth control! The message is being sent but Saba isn't getting it! She is full of arrogance and pride. Hopefully, after this defeat she will be on the way to becoming a humble lady LIKE ELENA! I hope she never regains the world No. 1 until she develops some humility.Rapunzel13-09-2026
- Sabalenka began showing signs of her game gradually 'changing' since last season. I predicted her fascination with posting endless Selfies, participating in commercial media distractions and constant Social Media nonsense could impact her in a negative way. Her off-court Life was sure to interfere with her performace level. Visions of Raducanu, Giorgi, Bouchard come to mind. The Final yesterday was a weird case of polar-opposites. Sabalenka and Rybakina could not be any more different in personalities! Saba often portrays a somewhat fake persona, including her Phony Screaming. Her usual habit of acting like the nice girl with a sense of humor is a misconception. People take her lack of intellect as "cute" and "funny". So anyway... yesterday viewers witnessed that Fake Scream be reduced to a whimper and sometimes no vocal gymnastics at all once she knew the jig was up. We all saw her look into the camera post-match and say "F... You". Also, pretty hard to not see Saba making untoward facial expressions, rolling her eyes, etc., behind Rybakina while on the podium. Elena Rybakina, on the other hand, was her usual 'in-control' self as she spoke clearly and calmly, without making faces nor any ill-will toward anyone = 100% Class Act. Lena appeared more than aware of Saba's sour attitude and made a point of not looking in her direction most of the time. FWIW: I have never -- not ever -- heard Sabalenka make any sounds on practice courts. So it is indeed a nonsensical ruse as she thinks (incorrectly) it affects opponents. It does not. In fact, as was the case yesterday, I saw Lena occasionally take a side-eye glance at Saba on her way to the bench... as if to calculate her emotions. Saba is actually a very easy 'read'.mandoist13-09-2026
- WTA really, really hates this sort of thing. They surely are satisfied to make believe no such thing happens (or happened).mandoist13-09-2026
- WTA and ATP cannot even make their dope testing equal and precise across the board. They sure as hell cannot escape a stituation they themselves made over the ridiculous "penalty" of omitting a player's country flag. Nothing regarding which flags to display (or not) should be a Thing. It proves nothing; solves nothing. If anything, all it did was cause stress, tension, and even outbursts between players in the WTA locker room. Let's not even start with the asinine practice of not shaking hands at the net with "the enemy". There seems to be a general lack of intelligence behind Pro Tennis administrations' Closed Doors. .mandoist13-09-2026
- Big Babe Tennis! Hoping for a good final.DaveyWavey12-09-2026
- Director needs to return to his old "job" at the Australia Open. He's clueless in NYC.mandoist12-09-2026
- You keep writing ridiculous crap... why are you even watching tennis?mandoist12-09-2026
- They probably have a very good reason for this. I do not get it. Annoying that it finishes so late
AceOfBase12-09-2026
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