Pegula outlasts Swiatek in near three‑hour win to set up all‑US Cincinnati final

Jessica Pegula beat Iga Swiatek 7-5 4-6 6-4 in a match that lasted almost three hours on 23 August 2026 to reach the final of the Cincinnati Open. She will face Coco Gauff in the women's final after Gauff defeated unseeded Czech Sara Bejlek 6-4 6-1 earlier on Saturday.

Pegula has won four WTA 1000 singles titles, and the semi-final between her and Swiatek featured 13 breaks of serve. The scheduled women's final will be the first all‑American contest in Cincinnati in 56 years, with Rosie Casals having beaten Nancy Richey in the 1970 final.

Swiatek is a six-time Grand Slam champion, and Pegula described the match as difficult to read. Pegula said: "I felt like we were playing well at times and then not playing well at times, so it was really tough to get a gauge on the match." She added: "Sometimes there's matches like that where you just see a lot of breaks back and forth, and I just kept telling myself to not get too upset about it." "It is a little emotionally draining," Pegula concluded.

In the men's draw, Frances Tiafoe beat fellow American Brandon Nakashima 7-5 6-3 to reach the final. Tiafoe's victory sets up a championship match against Arthur Fils of France and follows his run to the 2024 Cincinnati Open final, where he lost to Jannik Sinner.

The men's final will feature a first in Masters 1000 history: it will be the first time two black players have met in an ATP Masters 1000 final. Tiafoe said: "It's awesome for a bunch of kids looking up to us and [who] want to be in our position. That's what it's about." He added: "It's always nice to be a part of history. Hopefully we can have more big finals like this having people of colour, and I'm super pumped about it."

Only two black men have previously won Masters 1000 titles — American Ben Shelton and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Pegula and Gauff will contest the women's final on Sunday, and Tiafoe will play Arthur Fils in the men's final.