Cincinnati Open: Linette upsets Pegula

Pole Magda Linette, the No 31 seed, defeated American Jessica Pegula, the No 4 seed, 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-3 to move into the last 16 of the Cincinnati Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Wednesday.

Linette, ranked No 34, will face the winner of the match between Dane Clara Tauson, the No 16 seed, and Russian Veronika Kudermetova next.

This result highlights how 2025 is difficult season for Pegula. Although she captured three WTA titles—her first clay-court crown in Charleston and a notable grass victory over Iga Świątek at Bad Homburg—Pegula has struggled to maintain consistency, particularly at Grand Slam events.

Her most stunning setback came at Wimbledon, where, despite being the third seed and fresh off a title, she was eliminated in the first round by Elisabetta Cocciaretto, dropping the match in just 58 minutes while tallying 24 unforced errors. This was her earliest Grand Slam exit in five years, highlighting her growing challenge to perform under the spotlight.

She also fell to world No. 386 Anastasija Sevastova at the Canadian Open and has the points of her 2025 US Open final to defend.

Cincinnati WTA 1000, other 32 results (Lindner Family Tennis Center, hard, USD 5.152.599, most recent results first):

• Clara Tauson vs. Veronika Kudermetova: wednesday
• Lucia Bronzetti beat Jelena Ostapenko (23): 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
• Varvara Gracheva (Q) beat Karolina Muchova (11): 6-2, 6-4

• Coco Gauff (2) beat Dayana Yastremska (32): W/O
• Jasmine Paolini (7) beat Ashlyn Krueger (26): 7-6 (2), 6-1
• Barbora Krejcikova beat Iva Jovic (LL): 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
• Ella Seidel (Q) beat McCartney Kessler (29): 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (6)
• Elena Rybakina (9) beat Elise Mertens (19): 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
• Madison Keys (6) beat Aoi Ito (Q): 6-4, 6-0
• Anna Kalinskaya (28) beat Amanda Anisimova (5): 7-5, 6-4
• Aryna Sabalenka (1) beat Emma Raducanu (30): 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5)
• 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