Cincinnati Open: Sabalenka defeats Raducanu after a wild 3:09 battle
Aryna Sabalenka edged out Emma Raducanu 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5) on Monday. She’ll face Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the next round
Aryna Sabalenka, Cincinnati 2025 | © Zuma /PsNewz
Aryna Sabalenka had to dig deep into her reserves to keep her Cincinnati title defense alive. On Monday night, the Belarusian top seed and defending champion outlasted Emma Raducanu (No. 30) in a gripping 3-hour, 9-minute battle, decided by two tiebreaks: 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5).
Just weeks after their duel at Wimbledon, Sabalenka and Raducanu delivered one of the most intense matches of the women’s draw in Ohio. The Brit, now coached by Francisco Roig, pushed the world No. 1 to the brink, only to fall in the final tiebreak.
Victory snatched in the trenches
Out of breath yet smiling as she shook hands at the net, Sabalenka made no secret of her relief. “Luckily I have a day off coming up, because I wouldn’t have been able to do that again,” she admitted. “It was really tough, all about momentum and taking risks. I went for bold shots on the key points to put pressure on her, and it paid off.”
The match was a seesaw from start to finish. Raducanu’s sharp and aggressive shot-making rattled the defending champion, but Sabalenka found the right answers in the clutch, improving her remarkable tiebreak record to 18-1 this season.
The toll of a grueling season
This hard-fought win also reflects the physical and mental strain of Sabalenka’s year. A finalist at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, and a semifinalist at Wimbledon, she has been in the thick of the biggest battles since January. She even skipped Montreal last week to “recharge the batteries” ahead of the North American swing.
“It’s been an intense season, and it’s impossible to be at 100% every day. I’m trying to manage my energy better — this is a very important part of the year,” she said before the tournament. With the US Open — her favorite Grand Slam — fast approaching, she has her eyes firmly on New York.
For now, she moves into the round of 16, where she’ll face Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro (No. 42).
Raducanu, meanwhile, leaves Cincinnati with valuable positives. Her performance underlined that she can once again trouble the very best — a timely boost just two weeks before the US Open.
Cincinnati WTA 1000, other 32 results (Lindner Family Tennis Center, hard, USD 5.152.599, most recent results first):
- Clara Tauson vs. Veronika Kudermetova
- Magda Linette vs. Jessica Pegula
- Lucia Bronzetti vs. Jelena Ostapenko
- Dayana Yastremska vs. Coco Gauff
- Varvara Gracheva vs. Karolina Muchova
- Jasmine Paolini vs. Ashlyn Krueger
- Iva Jovic vs. Barbora Krejcikova
- Ella Seidel vs. McCartney Kessler
- Elena Rybakina vs. Elise Mertens
- Aoi Ito vs. Madison Keys
- Anna Kalinskaya vs. Amanda Anisimova: monday
- Sorana Cirstea beat Yue Yuan (LL): 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-4
- Ekaterina Alexandrova (12) beat Maya Joint: 6-4, 6-3
- Jessica Bouzas Maneiro beat Taylor Townsend (WC): 6-4, 6-1
- Iga Swiatek (3) beat Marta Kostyuk (25): W/O
