Swiatek, Sabalenka cruise; Rybakina stuns Keys as Kalinskaya’s run rolls on in Cincinnati

Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka both delivered commanding performances to reach the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday, confirming their status as tournament favorites with straight-set victories.

However, the drama of the day belonged to Elena Rybakina, who upset 2023 champion Madison Keys with an aggressive baseline display, and to Anna Kalinskaya, whose summer surge shows no sign of slowing down.

Swiatek, the reigning Wimbledon champion and No.3 seed, maintained her flawless record against Sorana Cirstea, dispatching the Romanian 6-4, 6-3. Despite swirling winds and occasional rain interruptions at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, the Pole stayed sharp from the baseline and found enough pop on her delivery to keep Cirstea off-balance.

“I was consistent enough. I aimed to be aggressive with my serve; not many of my first serves landed, but I was pleased with my second serves,” Swiatek said after closing out her fifth consecutive win over Cirstea.

Rybakina stronger than Keys

World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, made light work of Jessica Bouzas Maneiro, blitzing her 6-1, 7-5 to move into the last eight. After storming through a 26-minute opening set, the Belarusian had to hold off a late surge from her Spanish opponent, but closed things out with her trademark power. “Overall, I’m happy with my consistency today — especially in these conditions. The crowd really helped me focus,” Sabalenka reflected in her on-court interview.

If Swiatek and Sabalenka wrote a familiar script, Elena Rybakina created the day’s biggest twist by rallying past Madison Keys 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in a lively three-set battle. Rybakina, the No.7 seed, struggled to find her range early but dialed up her aggression as Keys faltered physically in the decider.

Anna Kalinskaya’s storybook run also gained another thrilling chapter as she dismissed Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-2, 7-6(4) to reach the quarter-finals in Cincinnati for the first time. “It feels so special to keep going here—you dream of these moments, but to actually do it, match after match, is incredible,” the Russian said in her post-match interview.

Cincinnati WTA 1000, other last 16 results (Lindner Family Tennis Center, hard, USD 5.152.599, most recent results first):

• Veronika Kudermetova vs. Magda Linette
• Ella Seidel vs. Varvara Gracheva
• Jasmine Paolini vs. Barbora Krejcikova
• Lucia Bronzetti vs. Coco Gauff
• Aryna Sabalenka (1) beat Jessica Bouzas Maneiro: 6-1, 7-5
• Elena Rybakina (9) beat Madison Keys (6): 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2
• Iga Swiatek beat Sorana Cirstea: 6-4, 6-3