Jessica Pegula will face Aryna Sabalenka in the Cincinnati Open final after battling past Paula Badosa.

World number six Pegula was made to wait for victory after a lengthy rain delay, eventually triumphing 6-2 3-6 6-3 on Sunday.

Sabalenka, the world number three, awaits in the showpiece after clinching a straight-sets victory over Iga Swiatek.

The 30-year-old Pegula raced out the blocks, breaking twice to snatch a 4-0 lead, despite requiring three break points to deal the second blow to Badosa.

Pegula did not look back from there, wrapping up the opener in 38 minutes before the match was paused with the score level midway through the second set.

Badosa utilised that prolonged stoppage to bounce back, taking both break chances to send the semi-final to a decider.

Yet Pegula held her nerve, staving off four break points to hold out for a 2-1 third-set lead before Badosa faltered on her own serve to fall to defeat in just under two hours.

Data Debrief: Pegula matches career-high

Straight off the back of her Canadian Open triumph, Pegula is in red-hot form heading into the final against Sabalenka, aiming for back-to-back WTA 1000 event triumphs.

The six-time major quarter-finalist has now won her last nine matches across WTA Tour outings, matching her previous career-best streak. Pegula is the sixth player in the Open Era to reach the finals at the Canadian and Cincinnati Open in a calendar year after Rosie Casals, Evonne Goolagong, Na Li, Serena Williams and Simona Halep.

Badosa continues to wait for her maiden victory over Pegula, while the Spaniard is also without a top-10 win on the hard courts since beating Barbora Krejcikova two years ago in Sydney.

Aryna Sabalenka reached the Cincinnati Open final for the first time by toppling Iga Swiatek, clinching an impressive 6-3 6-3 victory over the world number one.

Sabalenka needed one hour and 48 minutes to beat Swiatek and book a final meeting with either Jessica Pegula or Paula Badosa.

The Belarusian entered Saturday's heavyweight clash having lost on all three of her previous semi-final appearances at Cincinnati, falling short of the showpiece match in 2018, 2022 and 2023.

However, she produced a fine performance to end that hoodoo on Sunday, preying on a below-par showing from Swiatek, who won just six of 30 points on her second serve throughout.

Sabalenka made her intentions clear by breaking to love in the second game of the encounter, and though Swiatek hit straight back, another break in the sixth game was enough to hand her the opening set.

Both players were tested on their own serve in the second set, with Sabalenka saving four of five break points faced while converting three of 13 she generated on Swiatek's serve.

Swiatek saved a remarkable 10 match points, eight of them against her own serve, as Sabalenka was forced to clinch her victory the hard way, but a fifth break of the match finally got her over the line.

Sabalenka has now made five WTA Tour-level finals in 2024, the joint-most alongside Swiatek and Elena Rybakina.

Data Debrief: Another big scalp for Sabalenka

Sabalenka's victory was her fourth over a world number one at WTA 1000-level events since the format's 2009 introduction, the joint-most of any player alongside Petra Kvitova.

She has now reached a total of 29 WTA Tour-level finals, the most of any player on the tour since 2017 (Swiatek is second with 26).

Jannik Sinner reached the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open with a hard-fought 4-6 7-5 6-4 victory over Andrey Rublev, avenging last week's defeat to the Russian in Montreal.

Sinner was eliminated from the Canadian Open by Rublev at his last tournament, having missed the Paris Olympic Games due to a bout of tonsillitis.

He fought back from a set down to avoid a repeat in blustery conditions in Ohio on Saturday, having looked to be in trouble when he faced two break points at a set down.

The world number one saved both of those points before recovering from an awkward fall to win a 26-shot rally at 4-4, ultimately serving out the second set at the second opportunity.

Sinner then held off something of a third-set resurgence from Rublev to seal a gruelling two-hour, 25-minute victory, before expressing pride at the way he responded to adversity.

"It took a lot of mental strength today," Sinner said after his win. "It was very tough conditions, very windy. 

"In the first set he started very well and I didn't play my best tennis but in the second set, I felt I had a lot of chances. I waited for my chance. I am very happy to make the semis."

Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka teed up a heavyweight semi-final clash with Iga Swiatek in the women's draw, easing to a 6-3 6-2 victory over Liudmila Samsonova.

Sabalenka needed just one hour and 19 minutes to seal her win, reeling off 10 of the last 13 games to level her all-time head-to-head record with Samsonova at 2-2.

Data Debrief: Sabalenka joins exclusive club

Sabalenka is into her fourth semi-final at the Cincinnati Open, a joint-record at the competition among WTA players in the Open Era.

Jelena Jankovic, Serena Williams and Simona Halep are the only other women to achieve that feat.

Aryna Sabalenka has reached the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals for the fourth time after rallying to a straight-sets victory over Elina Svitolina.

The Belarusian took just 79 minutes to seal the victory, seeing off her opponent 7-5 6-2 on Friday.

Sabalenka made a quick start, earning a break in the first game, but was pushed all the way in the opening set, as Svitolina fought back to tie them level at 5-5.

Another break then set the number three seed up to take the set before she asserted her dominance by winning the final four games in a row to advance to the last eight.

She will face Liudmila Samsonova as she attempts to reach the semi-finals of the tournament for the third straight year.

Data Debrief: Four is the magic number

Only Jelena Jankovic (seven), Simona Halep (six) and Serena Williams (five) have made more quarter-finals than Sabalenka (four) in Cincinnati in the Open Era.

The 26-year-old now boasts 22 career WTA 1000 quarter-finals, tied for most among active players with Karolina Pliskova.

Throughout Friday's match, Sabalenka saved four of the five break points she faced in the match while going 4-for-4 on her own break points against Svitolina's serve.

Coco Gauff followed up Olympic disappointment with an early Canadian Open exit after being stunned by Diana Shnaider in Toronto.

World number two Gauff suffered early eliminations at the Paris Olympics last week after falling in the singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

The number one seed was then downed 6-4 6-1 by her fellow 20-year-old, who secured the first top-10 win of her career to seal a maiden appearance in the quarter-finals of an ATP 1000 event.

"Sometimes I question like whether I should have played or not," Gauff said, "But at the end of the day I wanted to test myself and see if I would be able to, how I would do being mentally tired a little bit and physically fatigued.

"I said going into the tournament I didn't have high expectations, but I wish I could have competed better today, even if it resulted in a loss. I don't think I competed well."

Shnaider is a remarkable 39-14 across all professional matches for the year, winning three titles in Hua Hin, Thailand (hard) in February, Bad Homburg (grass) in June and Budapest (clay) in July.

"I know Coco is very physically prepared for everyone on tour, and she's running very well, she's covering all of the balls and all the angles on the court," Shnaider said.

"So when there were long rallies and I was winning them I was like, 'Wow, I just beat Coco in long rallies. I am good'. I mean, I tried to play it cool, but inside I was like, 'Yes! I made it!'"

Meanwhile, third seed Aryna Sabalenka eased past British number one Katie Boulter for a routine 6-3 6-3 triumph in Canada.

Sabalenka will next face Amanda Anisimova, one of five Americans in the last eight alongside defending champion Jessica Pegula, Peyton Stearns, Emma Navarro and Taylor Townsend.

Since the beginning of 2020, Sabalenka has reached 17 WTA 1000 quarter-finals, a feat only matched by world number one Iga Swiatek for the most at WTA 1000 events in that time.

Marie Bouzkova produced an unlikely upset against top seed Aryna Sabalenka to reach the final of the Washington Open in an encounter affected by weather delays. 

After being 2-1 down in the third set before lightning and rain stopped play for three and a half hours, Bouzkova rallied to win 6-4 3-6 6-3 in the American capital. 

A double break in the first set from Bouzkova saw the Czech hold the early advantage, only for her opponent to respond, serving three of her eight aces to take the second.

But upon returning to the court after the delay, Bouzkova broke Sabalenka's serve in the first game before breaking again to take a 5-3 lead. 

The world number 29 closed out the victory against the Australian Open champion with a love game, setting up a meeting with Paula Badosa, who won in straight sets against home hopeful Caroline Dolehide. 

Aryna Sabalenka expressed her delight at overcoming a "tough" match with Victoria Azarenka to advance to the semi-finals of the Washington Open in straight sets. 

World number three Sabalenka needed an hour and 45 minutes to get past her fellow compatriot, prevailing 6-4 6-4 to progress to the next round. 

The two-time grand slam champion served eight aces compared to Azarenka's one, and although the encounter looked one-sided, it was anything but for Sabalenka. 

"Always tough battles against her," Sabalenka said. "She always brings the best fight she can.

"I always enjoy playing against her. Just super happy to get through this tough match.

"I feel like with every set, I play better and better. Hopefully I can just (keep) building my level and by the US Open, I'll be 100 percent ready."

Sabalenka claimed her second Australian Open title earlier this year, but was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon with a shoulder problem. 

However, the Belarusian showed no signs of injuries in the American capital and is confident of maintaining her recent form. 

"I'm super happy. I'm doing really great so far. Fingers crossed, the injury's in the past. I feel really good," Sabalenka said. 

"We're doing everything we can with my team to keep my shoulder strong and make sure (such an injury) will never happen again."

Top seed Sabalenka advanced to Saturday's semi-final where she will meet Marie Bouzkova, who beat 19-year-old American Robin Montgomery in straight sets. 

Aryna Sabalenka has withdrawn from Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury ahead of the first round.

The world number three was due to play Emina Bektas on Monday, but left the practice court early, with the All England Club organisers confirming she would not be participating.

She will now be replaced by Erika Andreeva, who lost to Sonay Kartal in the final round of qualifying.

Sabalenka retired from her Berlin quarter-final in June with the same issue, the first time she has ever done so in a professional match in her career, and later stated she was not "100% fit" or able to serve without pain.

The Belarusian is a two-time Grand Slam winner but has never won at Wimbledon, falling at the semi-final hurdle in both 2021 and 2023.

Sabalenka was looking to put a disappointing clay swing behind her, after suffering final defeats in Madrid and Rome before being knocked out in the quarter-final at the French Open.

Carlos Alcaraz will be the Centre Court star at Wimbledon when the Spaniard opens his title defence on Monday.

Alcaraz will be hoping to add to this year's French Open glory when he opens his All England Club campaign against world number 269 Mark Lajal.

The 21-year-old will play in the Centre Court opener as the grass-court major starts, with Alcaraz aiming to become the youngest player in the Open Era to win at Roland Garros and Wimbledon in a calendar year.

World number one Jannik Sinner meets Yannick Hanfmann in his first-round clash on the same day.

Sinner won his maiden grand slam title at the Australian Open in January, and heads to SW19 having won a further three Tour-level titles this year.

Daniil Medvedev reached the semi-final last year for his personal-best performance at Wimbledon before losing to Alcaraz, and the fifth seed faces American Aleksandar Kovacevic in his opener.

As for the women's draw, Emma Raducanu will follow Alcaraz onto Centre Court as one of the home favourites at Wimbledon.

Raducanu reached the last four at the Nottingham Open before claiming her first top-10 victory against Jessica Pegula at Eastbourne, with Ekaterina Alexandrova awaiting in the first round for the Briton.

Aryna Sabalenka has won the opening round in her last 15 grand slam appearances and the third seed will be seeking to extend that impressive record when she clashes with world number 107 Emina Bektas.

Coco Gauff will be another to keep an eye on when she wraps up Monday's Centre Court action with an all-American showdown against Caroline Dolehide.

Reigning US Open champion Gauff will be the youngest player to feature in the women's singles at Wimbledon seeded in the top two since Maria Sharapova in 2007.

Iga Swiatek's stunning rise to stardom continues at a momentous pace, and she is enjoying a wonderfully successful campaign.

Her clay-court swing was superb, with Swiatek reeling off victories in Madrid and Rome before claiming her third successive French Open title, and fourth overall.

Yet for all her joy in Paris over the past four years, the 23-year-old is yet to taste victory at Wimbledon, with her run to the quarters in last year's event the best she has managed at the All England Club.

But will that run end this year, and what of the other contenders in the women's singles draw?

Swiatek's missing piece of the puzzle

Wimbledon is not the only grand slam title missing from Swiatek's growing collection, but it is the only one she has so far failed to reach at least the semi-finals in.

Swiatek has won 72 grand slam matches since the start of 2020, with Aryna Sabalenka (62) and Ons Jabeur (51) the only other players to surpass 50 in that time.

She is one of three players, along with Elena Rybakina and Danielle Collins, aiming to become just the third player since the start of 2020 to win a Tour-level title on grass, clay and hard court in a calendar year, after Ashleigh Barty (2021) and Caroline Garcia (2022).

The Pole is also out to match a couple of Serena Williams feats.

Should she win, she will be the youngest player since Williams in 2002 to triumph at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the same season, while that would make Swiatek the first player to win successive singles titles at grand slams since Williams won the French Open and Wimbledon in 2015.

Swiatek has been handed a tough start, however. She will face Sofia Kenin, the 2020 Australian Open champion, in the first round.

That being said, Swiatek won in straight sets in both of her previous meetings with Kenin (Roland Garros 2020 and this year's Australian Open).

History is also on her side. The player ranked at world number one has won their first-round tie in each of the last 19 women's singles at grand slams – the last time a number one lost in the opening round of a major was at the US Open 2018, with Kaia Kanepi defeating Simona Halep.

Swiatek is also the only woman to appear in all the grand slam events since 2020 without ever losing in the first round in that span (17-0).

Sabalenka racing against time, Gauff's chance to shine?

Sabalenka's tussle with Swiatek was a highlight of the clay-court swing, though the Belarusian has acknowledged she may not be fit enough to feature at Wimbledon as she deals with a shoulder issue.

She has hit 309 winners in grand slam matches this year, the most of any player. Should she play and go all the way, Sabalenka would be just the third player to win the Australian Open and Wimbledon in the same calendar year after Williams (2003, 2009-10 and 15) and Amelie Mauresmo (2006).

Sabalenka is looking to become the first player to make the quarter-finals in eight consecutive grand slams since Williams (10 between the US Open 2014 and the Australian Open 2017), while the 26-year-old has won the opening round in her last 15 grand slam appearances.

Should the world number three not make it, then second seed Coco Gauff seems set to be Swiatek's main rival.

It is five years ago since Gauff burst onto the scene as a 15-year-old by stunning Venus Williams.

However, she has never made it further than the last 16 and was knocked out by compatriot Kenin in the first round last year.

Reigning US Open champion Gauff will face Caroline Dolehide in the first round. Their only other Tour-level meeting came at this year's Australia Open.

Gauff will be the youngest player to feature in the women's singles at Wimbledon seeded in the top two since Maria Sharapova in 2007, while she and Swiatek combine to be the youngest seeded number one and two (43 years and 141 days) at the tournament in women's singles since 2003 (Williams and Kim Clijsters).

The main battle for Gauff may well be getting on top of the surface. She has won 66.7% of her WTA main draw matches on grass (18-9); this is her lowest winning percentage on a single surface (72.3% on clay and 68.8% on hard court). 

Home hopes

Emma Raducanu enjoyed a remarkable rise to stardom in 2021, impressing at Wimbledon before going on to claim her maiden grand slam title at Flushing Meadows.

But that whirlwind success made way for difficult campaigns in 2022 and 2023, blighted by injuries and poor form.

However, the 21-year-old has hit her stride this grass-court season and reached the last four at the Nottingham Open before claiming her first victory over a top-10 opponent when she beat Jessica Pegula at Eastbourne.

She also reached the quarters in Stuttgart in April, losing to Swiatek, and was unfortunate to be drawn against Sabalenka at Indian Wells before that. Ranked at 135 in the world, Raducanu is certainly a long shot, but she will have the backing of the home crowd, as will Katie Boulter.

Fresh from winning the Nottingham Open, world number 29 Boulter will go up against Tatjana Maria in the first round.

Boulter is the only seeded British player in the women's singles – she is just the third Briton to be seeded at Wimbledon this century after Johanna Konta (2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019) and Raducanu (2022).

In the last three years, only Ons Jabeur (22) has won more grass-court matches than Boulter (21, level with Ekaterina Alexandrova), who has also won more matches at Wimbledon (six) than any of the other majors combined.

The 27-year-old also leads the way for winners struck in the grass-court swing so far, with 256, so she is one to watch.

The wildcards

Marketa Vondrousova is the only unseeded player to win the women's singles title at Wimbledon in the Open Era, after her dream run last year.

Vondrousova (42 at the time of last year's tournament) is the lowest-ranked winner of the title in the past four decades. She is one of only two players ranked outside the WTA's top 25 to win the event over that span, along with Venus Williams in 2007.

Now ranked at world number six, Vondrousova will have a target on her back this year, but will some other unseeded players or wildcards fancy their chances?

Four former grand slam champions (Angelique Kerber, Raducanu, Caroline Wozniacki and Naomi Osaka) will appear in a women's singles major main draw thanks to wild cards for the first time in the Open Era.

Osaka has only won four matches at Wimbledon, making this her least favourite grand slam, though only Caroline Garcia (10.5) has averaged more aces per match in the majors this season than the Japanese star.

Kerber is the player with the most main draw wins in Wimbledon (38) among those featuring in the tournament in 2024 and is featuring at a major thanks to a wildcard for the first time in her career.

Only Victoria Azarenka (16, including 2024) has more main-draw appearances at Wimbledon than Kerber (15) among those featuring at this year's edition.

Wozniacki will appear in Wimbledon's main draw thanks to a wildcard for the second time in her career, after 2007. She has never reached the quarters at the event.

Aryna Sabalenka has confirmed she will not compete at the Olympic Games in Paris next month in order to prioritise her health. 

The world number three retained her Australian Open title at the start of the year but suffered defeat in the quarter-finals of the French Open at Roland-Garros.

The Belarusian's loss was her first before the semi-final stage of a major tournament since 2022, and she intends to rest ahead of the for the hard-court season which begins at the US Open 22 games after the Olympics. 

"I prefer to have a little rest to make sure physically and health-wise I'm ready for the hard courts," said Sabalenka, who was the runner-up last year in New York. 

"Especially with all the struggles I've been struggling with the last months, I feel I have to take care of my health.

"It's too much for the scheduling and I made the decision to take care of my health."

Sabalenka is currently in Germany preparing for the Berlin Open, and faces Daria Kasatkina in the last 16 of the competition, having come from a set down to beat Marta Kostyuk on Monday. 

Mirra Andreeva upset ailing world number two Aryna Sabalenka in three sets on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals of the French Open.

Sabalenka was bidding to reach the final four of a grand slam for a ninth time, but instead Andreeva recovered from behind 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-4 to reach her maiden major semi.

The 17-year-old Russian will now face Jasmine Paolini, who stunned Elena Rybakina 6-2 4-6 6-4 earlier in the day in Paris to also reach her first grand slam semi-final.

After a tense and tight opening set in which the serve was lost in four of the first five games, Sabalenka ultimately stood firm to prevail in the tie-break.

The second set followed a similar pattern as Andreeva and then Sabalenka lost serve in the opening two games, but it was the teenager who this time managed to find her footing.

Sabalenka, who was struggling with an injury throughout, did herself manage to instantly hit back after losing serve in the sixth game, only for Andreeva to break in the 10th.

That ensured the match went the distance, much to the delight of the crowd, and it was the underdog who showed nerves of steel to eliminate the much-fancied Sabalenka.

A deep backhand return from Sabalenka brought up three break points, which the Belarusian took at the first attempt to make it 3-2, but that proved a false dawn.

Andreeva broke back in the sixth, roaring with delight in doing so, and held until the 10th game when sending a backhand winner down the line for match point.

Data Debrief: Age just a number for amazing Andreeva

Andreeva, aged 17 years and 37 days, is the youngest women's singles grand slam semi-finalist since Martina Hingis in 1997 at the US Open, and the youngest at the French Open since Hingis the same year.

The Russian is also the youngest to defeat a top-two opponent in a women's singles grand slam since Jelena Dokic against Hingis at Wimbledon in 1999, and the youngest in this tournament since Monica Seles against Steffi Graf in 1990.

Elena Rybakina suffered a stunning quarter-final exit from the French Open on Wednesday, an error-strewn performance being punished by Italy's Jasmine Paolini.

World number four Rybakina had been tipped to challenge Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka for the Roland Garros crown, but she only had herself to blame as her opponent reached her first career grand slam semi-final with a 6-2 4-6 6-4 victory.

The Kazakhstani did not look right from the get-go, committing a huge 16 unforced errors to Paolini's one in the opening set, during which the Italian only lost one point on her own serve.

It was more of the same at the start of the second set as a double fault allowed Paolini to clinch an early break with a ferocious cross-court backhand. 

Rybakina did steady the ship by breaking straight back, and she seemed to be in the ascendency when she kicked on to take the second set with two further breaks.

However, errors crept back into her game in a decider that began with four straight breaks of serve. Paolini grew in confidence again, breaking again then getting through a nervy final service game, a long forehand from Rybakina on match point summing up her performance.

Data Debrief: Late bloomer Paolini savours greatest win

Paolini's victory made her just the fifth player this century to make her first grand slam quarter-final at Roland Garros while aged 28 or older, after Elena Likhovtseva (2005), Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova (2021) and fellow Italians Francesca Schiavone (2010) and Martina Trevisan (2022).

She will face either Mirra Andreeva or Sabalenka in the last four. With Jannik Sinner also flying the flag, this year's French Open will be the first in the Open Era to feature Italian semi-finalists in both the men's and women's draws.

Aryna Sabalenka highlighted her consistency as key after reaching her ninth career grand slam quarter-final with a dominant victory over Emma Navarro at the French Open.

The world number two became the youngest woman to make seven grand slam quarter-finals in a row since Venus Williams 20 years ago with a comfortable 6-2 6-3 win over the American. 

The last major where Sabalenka was not involved in the last eight was the 2022 edition of Wimbledon, when Russian and Belarusian players were banned due to the war in Ukraine.

The two-time Australian Open champion is attempting to become the first woman to win the season's first two majors since Serena Williams in 2015. 

After gaining revenge over an opponent who beat her at Indian Wells three months ago, Sabalenka said of her run of quarter-finals: "It sounds crazy to me, to be honest.

"I'm super happy that I was able to bring this consistency at the grand slams. It's motivating me a lot to keep pushing myself a lot and to see where the limit is.

"With the sun out it is definitely more positive. We had a difficult few days last week with the weather, but now the roof is open with beautiful conditions. It was a little windy, but I was myself and tried to do my best.

"It was a tough battle. I went into it wanting to fight for every point. I expected long rallies. I had to fight to get the win.

"She is a tough opponent, but I am happy to get through the match."

Sabalenka faces either 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva or French favourite Varvara Gracheva in the next round. 

Aryna Sabalenka crushed Emma Navarro in straight sets to advance to the French Open quarter-finals, requiring just 71 minutes to clinch a 6-2 6-3 victory.

World number two Sabalenka had reached the last 16 without dropping a single set, only losing more than two games in one of six sets of tennis at this year's tournament.

It was more of the same on Court Philippe-Chatrier on Monday, the two-time grand slam winner's power and poise giving world number 22 Navarro few chances to make it a contest.

Sabalenka set the tone by breaking in the very first service game and was a set up within 32 minutes, winning 13 of 14 points behind her first serve in the opener. 

Another quick break meant the second set followed a similar pattern, and though Navarro came through a couple of tough service games, she only delayed the inevitable as Sabalenka teed up a last-eight clash with either Varvara Gracheva or Mirra Andreeva.

Data Debrief: No denying Sabalenka

Sabalenka was beaten in her only previous meeting with Navarro at Indian Wells earlier this year, but she gave the American little hope of a repeat on Monday.

The victory made her just the seventh woman to make seven consecutive grand slam quarter-finals this century, after Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams and Serena Williams.

The last major where Sabalenka was not involved in the last eight was the 2022 edition of Wimbledon, when Russian and Belarusian players were banned due to the war in Ukraine.