Aryna Sabalenka Unfazed by Summer Slump Heading Into Cincinnati Open
Aryna Sabalenka says a short break helped her reset as she arrives in Mason with just one semifinal in six events since March.
- Top-Seeded Aryna Sabalenka arrived at the Cincinnati Open this week seeking a reset after a challenging summer, receiving a first-round bye at the ATP-WTA Masters 1000 event.
- Sabalenka has remained winless since the Miami Open, with early exits at the Canadian Open and Wimbledon, which she attributed to high expectations and physical setbacks throughout 2026.
- "I wanted to stay away from tennis for a little bit so I could refresh, restart and be hungry again," Sabalenka said, describing her simple goal: "Compete, fight and enjoy."
- Heavy rains and storm warnings delayed qualifying at the 12-day tournament, where Sabalenka will face either Australian Talia Gibson or a qualifier in her second-round match.
- The Cincinnati Open serves as Sabalenka's final warm-up before the US Open, where she aims to regain the hard-court form that secured her previous major titles.
12 Articles
12 Articles
How Aryna Sabalenka Became the Most Compelling Player in Tennis
—Photograph by Molly Cranna for TIMEAryna Sabalenka did not get completely drunk.In July, Sabalenka, the world’s top-ranked women’s tennis player, lost to Naomi Osaka in their round-of-16 match at Wimbledon. It was her first straight-set defeat at a major in nearly a half-dozen years. What’s more, it was her second surprise exit in a row from a Grand Slam tournament. So when she took her place before the assembled media at her postmatch press c…
Radio France Internationale
France24No-stress Sabalenka won't fret over lackluster 2026 results
The four-time Grand Slam champion, who has claimed all of her major titles on hard courts, won in Cincinnati two years ago to lay the ground work for her first US Open trophy a few weeks later. But 2026 has been a dud by her world-class standards, with three titles overall but none since Miami in the spring. She came to the rainy American Midwest after exiting last week in the Toronto fourth round. Her Wimbledon was equally flat, losing at tha…
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