MASON − For the second time in three years, Jessica Pegula will compete for the Rookwood Cup.
Pegula, the WTA’s No. 3 ranked player, defeated defending champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 in the semifinals of the 2026 Cincinnati Open on Saturday, Aug. 21. The American also snapped Swiatek’s 10-match win streak that extended back to the National Bank Open.
In a match between two of the best returners in the WTA, there were 13 breaks across two hours and 47 minutes of play. Sets came down to who performed best down the stretch, which was Pegula in the first and third sets. It also helped that many shots down the line went in Pegula’s favor, and vice versa for Swiatek.
“Crazy match today,” Pegula said following her win. “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 … so really happy with the way I was able to handle a lot that was going on today.”
Both players pointed out the windy conditions in Sunday’s match, and Swiatek said that Pegula was able to handle them better than she did.
Pegula broke Swiatek first. Swiatek pounced on Pegula’s serve to break right back but dropped the next game to Pegula, which was briefly interrupted by a drizzle of rain. Two breaks later, Pegula won the first hold of the match at 4-2, before Swiatek held for the first time next.
Swiatek beat Pegula’s serve again at 4-4, but couldn’t break for the set when she had the chance. Instead, Pegula won the next three games, taking advantage of Swiatek rushing her shots to gain a 7-5 lead. On set point, Swiatek dumped a wide-open volley into the net.
“I didn’t feel really good in the first set,” Swiatek said. “A little bit low on energy, and couldn’t really find the right spot to hit the ball, mishitting quite a lot of times.”
The fifth game of the second set was the first game that didn’t go to deuce (Swiatek held 40-0 to lead 3-2), but both players somehow managed to go without a break by forcing each other into mistakes. Swiatek broke first to go up 4-2, but couldn’t find her rhythm and lost the next game. Despite a shaky next two games, Swiatek still broke Pegula a second time to win the second set 6-4 and push the match into a third.
Swiatek got out to a 3-1 lead in the decider: she started commanding more first serves, and Pegula gifted her with two double faults in the fourth game. That momentum immediately went away in the next game, when Swiatek started missing serves again and fell on the ground on break point.
Pegula got the crowd as loud as its been all afternoon to take the 3-3 game, winning a rally on a clutch passing shot. Swiatek’s double fault at break point to put Pegula up 5-4 was the nail in the coffin, and Pegula served for the win and a 6-4 third set.
“I saw it early enough … I just stuck to my guns in that moment and then was able to hit a winner,” Pegula said of her game point at 3-3. “As soon as I hit it, I knew it was going to be a winner.”
Though Swiatek holds a 7-6 lead in the head-to-head over Pegula, Pegula has won three of their last four matchups, The American believes that her ability to take shots early and change the direction of balls is something that troubles Swiatek specifically, especially on the hard courts.
Pegula suffered a strain in her quarterfinal match against Amanda Animisova that required a match timeout, but after a day off on Friday, she said it didn’t bother her Saturday. Expect her to be fully healthy headed into Sunday.
“I would love to actually not just win this tournament, but be able to get one of the cooler trophies I think that is out there,” Pegula said of the Rookwood Cup.
The last time Pegula was in the Cincinnati Open final was 2024, when she lost to current World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in two sets. She’ll have a second chance in Sunday’s final, when she plays the winner of the semi between No. 4 Coco Gauff and Sarah Bejlek.
This story will be updated.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Jessica Pegula defeats Iga Swiatek to reach Cincinnati Open final
Reporting by Yanyan Li and Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Yanyan Li and Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
