Iga Swiatek has measured her expectations ahead of the Cincinnati Open this week, with the top-ranked seed placing full focus on the US Open later this month. 

Swiatek, who won bronze at the Paris Olympics, returns to the hardcourt surface for the first time since the Miami Open back in March. 

The Pole has since won three titles on clay in Madrid, Rome and the French Open, before losing to Yulia Putintseva in the third round on the grass courts of Wimbledon. 

She returned to Roland-Garros with her eyes set on Olympic gold, but settled for a third place finish after beating Anna Karolina Schmiedlova in her bronze medal match.

However, Swiatek, who plays Ajla Tomljanovic or Varvara Gracheva in the second round this week, acknowledged how difficult the transition will be. 

"I know that the first tournament on hardcourts isn't going to be easy," said Swiatek. 

"So I'm going to try to treat it as a practice tournament, but not in a way that I don't care - more in a way that I want to implement all the stuff that I practiced on.

"I think it's the best approach for me now."

The US Open offers an opportunity for Swiatek to claim a second title Stateside, with the possibility of taking her grand slam total to six. 

But with Cincinnati first up, the Pole said that the Lindner Family Tennis Center is the perfect platform to build to the tournament in New York later this month. 

"I felt after the Olympics I need to reset and also focus on getting my technique back together and just grinding on court," Swiatek said.

"Here's the perfect place to do it. It feels a little bit less crazy, but on the other hand, even before the tournament, there are many people and a lot of fans.

"So you still feel it's an important tournament."

Iga Swiatek has measured her expectations ahead of the Cincinnati Open this week, with the top-ranked seed placing full focus on the US Open later this month. 

Swiatek, who won bronze at the Paris Olympics earlier this month, returns to the hardcourt surface for the first time since the Miami Open back in March. 

The Pole has since won three titles on clay in Madrid, Rome and the French Open, before losing to Yulia Putintseva in the third round on the grass courts of Wimbledon. 

She returned to Roland-Garros with her eyes set on gold, but settled for a third place finish after beating Anna Karolína Schmiedlova in her bronze medal match.

However, Swiatek, who plays Ajla Tomljanovic or Varvara Gracheva in the second round this week, acknowledged how difficult the transition will be. 

"I know that the first tournament on hardcourts isn't going to be easy," said Swiatek. 

"So I'm going to try to treat it as a practice tournament, but not in a way that I don't care - more in a way that I want to implement all the stuff that I practiced on.

"I think it's the best approach for me now."

The US Open offers an opportunity for Swiatek to claim a second title Stateside, with the possibility of taking her grand slam total to six. 

But with Cincinnati first up, the Pole said that the Lindner Family Tennis Center is the perfect platform to build to the tournament in New York later this month. 

"I felt after the Olympics I need to reset and also focus on getting my technique back together and just grinding on court," Swiatek said.

"Here's the perfect place to do it. It feels a little bit less crazy, but on the other hand, even before the tournament, there are many people and a lot of fans.

"So you still feel it's an important tournament."

Jessica Pegula reflected on a “really special” win at the Canadian Open in Toronto, after defeating fellow American Amanda Anisimova in the final.

The victory marked Pegula’s second straight Canadian Open title, as she fended off an Anisimova comeback to win 6-3 2-6 6-1.

The 30-year-old, who was seeded third, has become just the seventh player in the Open Era to defend her Canadian Open title, the most recent having been Martina Hingis in 2000.

Pegula, who hails from Buffalo, New York, enjoyed her achievement all the more for the presence of family and friends.

"Toronto, it's nice, it's so close to Buffalo, I had a lot of friends, family, and my grandparents, my husband was able to come today. That's cool, I don't really get that at a lot of tournaments,” said Pegula.

"Then to be able to win the tournament as well, and to be able to share that moment with them is really special.

“I don't know what it is about Canada, but I just seem to do well. Yeah, I'll take it.”

The victory means Pegula has become the first woman to win 10 consecutive singles matches at the Canadian Open since Serena Williams. The 23-time grand slam winner triumphed in 14 straight matches between 2011 and 2014.

"I know everyone's talking about my record, but it's nice to be able to get through the week and to back it up," said Pegula. "So, just super excited, I mean, an honour, really.”

It took Pegula one hour and 27 minutes to defeat Anisimova and win her sixth WTA singles title. It also marked her third career WTA 1000 title (Guadalajara 2022, Montreal 2023 and Toronto 2024).

It was Anisimova's first Tour-level final in over two years, with the 22-year-old having defeated four top-20 players on her way there.

"I put the work in, I kept my head down, and I tried to come back to the sport with more of a relaxed feeling," Anisimova reflected.

"Trying to enjoy each day as it comes and not being so serious about everything, because that takes away the joy from a lot of things. That approach to my everyday life has helped me a lot."

Jessica Pegula successfully defended her Canadian Open crown by beating Amanda Anisimova in Monday's final.

Pegula, who was seeded third, prevailed 6-3 2-6 6-1 against her fellow American in Toronto.

The 30-year-old ended Anisimova's hopes of a shock title, and a fifth top-20 win of the tournament.

Pegula was on fire in the opening set, dominating on her serve, but Anisimova responded with a swift break in the second as she rallied to draw the match.

Yet two breaks in quick succession put Pegula firmly on top in the decider, and though Anisimova clawed back two match points, her opponent got the job done at the third time of asking.

Pegula has now won six Tour-level titles, with three of these being WTA 1000 events (Guadalajara 2022, Montreal 2023 and Toronto 2024).

Data Debrief: Pegula's Canadian comforts

Hailing from Buffalo, just south of the border, Pegula has certainly enjoyed a fine run in Canada over the past two years. 

She is only the second player this century to secure the title at the Canadian Open in both Toronto and Montreal, along with Simona Halep, while she became the seventh player in the Open Era to defend her title at the Canadian Open after Chris Evert, Evonne Goolagong, Martina Navratilova, Regina Marsikova, Monica Seles and Martina Hingis.

No player had successfully defended a WTA 1000 title since Iga Swiatek did so at Rome in 2022, and no player had done so on hard court since Ashleigh Barty, who defended her Miami crown in 2021.

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.

Naomi Osaka crashed out of the Canadian Open with a straight-sets defeat to Elise Mertens in the second round on Thursday.

The Belgian held her nerve for her second win over Osaka this year, beating her 6-3 6-4 in Toronto to set up a meeting with Liudmila Samsonova in the round of 16.

Osaka was caught out by making errors from the baseline and failed to gain any momentum as her preparation for the US Open took a hit with her early exit.

Despite the defeat, the former world number one remained upbeat about her performance as she looks to build on this result.

"I feel like I could have put a bit more on the court, a bit more from the baseline shots," Osaka said. "I got a bit caught up in the idea of being consistent and staying in the exchanges, I don't know.

"I'm happy with how I fought despite not winning, but I feel like I learned a lot.

"Unfortunately, I have always suffered a lot from my perfectionism, and I also tend to doubt myself a lot, but I think it's necessary to go through this process and have tough losses from which you can learn a lot about yourself.

"I know there will be many tough defeats like this one, but hopefully, I hope to be back in the top ten soon." 

Data Debrief: Fight fizzles out

Osaka struggled to gain a foothold in the match, losing her serve four times while only earning two breaks in return. 

She won just 37% of her second serve points (10/27) and failed to win more than two games in a row as Mertens edged out of her reach. 

Coco Gauff continued her preparations for the defence of her US Open title by reaching the next round of the Canadian Open, beating China's Yafan Wang in straight sets.

Gauff needed just under an hour and a half to get the job done in Toronto, emerging a 6-4 6-4 victor to bounce back from her disappointment at the Paris Olympics. 

The world number two started shakily, saving three break points in the third game before converting a break of her own to lead 3-1 in the opening exchanges. 

Wang would fight back, however, winning the next three games on the bounce, but the American would rally to take the first set. 

It looked as though Gauff would cruise to victory after taking a three-game lead, but her Chinese opponent would show her powers of recovery once more, levelling the encounter soon after. 

The pair would trade blows for the remainder, with Gauff proving too strong for Yang late on, claiming the triumph with a love game on serve. 

Gauff will face Diana Shnaider for a place in the quarter-finals following the Russian's triumph over Magdalena Frech earlier in the day. 

Data Debrief: Gauff fights off spirited Wang

While Gauff was far from her best in Toronto, she adjusted well to the hard surface having competed on the clay courts of Roland-Garros at the Olympics. 

The American impressed on serve, registering six aces throughout the contest while also winning 65% of her first-serve points. 

Naomi Osaka said her straight-sets victory over Ons Jabeur in the Canadian Open demonstrates her growing confidence.

The four-time grand slam champion defeated world number 16 Jabeur 6-3 6-1 in her first-round match in Toronto.

Osaka’s victory follows her early exit in the Olympics where she lost in straight sets to Germany’s Angelique Kerber last month at Roland-Garros.

Away from the clay courts, the Japanese player felt the surface and her opponent brought out the best in her in Canada.

“Everyone knows I really love hard court,” said Osaka. “So I don’t know, I wasn’t really thinking too much.

"It felt very instinctual and honestly when I play the best players like Ons I tend to play better."

Now, Osaka believes she is beginning to build momentum again after her hiatus.

“I think if you’ve been following my journey a little, I go through mountains and hills. But now I’m feeling quite confident in myself as a person and a player and I think that showed a little,” she explained.

“Hopefully I can continue to play a lot more matches, but I think I just really love playing tennis and it’s been an honour to play such a great match in front of everyone.”

Coco Gauff is not expecting to win the Canadian Open as she manages the transition from clay to hard courts following the Olympics. 

Gauff fell short of a medal last month, losing to Donna Vekic in the singles while bowing out of the mixed and women's doubles with Jessica Pegula and Taylor Fritz. 

The world number two is one of the headline names at the WTA event in Toronto after a number of high-profile players, including world number one Iga Swiatek and Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova, dropped out.

Her opening game of the tournament sees her face Yafan Wang, however, Gauff has tempered expectations as she prepares to defend her US Open crown at Flushing Meadows.

"I am not going into this expecting to win or anything. That would be great and it's the goal, but being realistic I was on clay three days ago," Gauff said. 

"I'm just trying to use this to see where I am and what I need to do to get ready for the US Open."

After her frustration in Paris, Gauff will have to wait another four years to win an Olympic medal, but has the comfort of the next Games being held on home soil in Los Angeles.  

And despite suffering disappointment in all three Olympic disciplines (singles, doubles and mixed doubles) this year at Roland-Garros, the American put her name forward to compete across the board again in 2028. 

"I would still do all three [events] again if that’s a possibility in '28," Gauff said. 

"I mean it's four years from now, I'll be 24, so I will still be on the healthier and younger side of things, and especially if the draw size for mixed is that small, I feel like that's one everyone wants to play.

"I had a great experience, from not being able to go to Tokyo to being able to go here, I just feel like LA, I'll hopefully be on the podium.

"I just feel like that's what my life consists of, having a disappointing result and then the next time is the best thing in the world."

Iga Swiatek is sure of her place at the WTA Finals after it was announced the world number one had qualified for season's grand finale.

The season-ending tournament will take place in the Saudi Arabian city of Riyadh for the first time, and will be held in November.

Swiatek, who won bronze at the Paris Olympics last week, has become the first player to secure her place at the Finals.

The 23-year-old has scooped five titles in 2024, including the French Open, which she has won four times.

“It's a great feeling to qualify for the WTA Finals for the fourth year in a row," said Swiatek, the reigning WTA Finals champion.

"I hope that the performances of the eight best players of the season will give a lot of joy to the fans all over the world."

Swiatek will become the youngest player to appear at the WTA Finals for four consecutive years since Victoria Azarenka (2009-2012).

After been knocked out early on in 2021, Swiatek reached the semi-finals in Fort Worth in 2022 before triumphing in Cancun last year.

Naomi Osaka put her Paris Olympics disappointment behind her as she eased to the next round of the Canadian Open in a straight-sets win over Ons Jabeur.

Osaka fell at the first hurdle to Angelique Kerber at Roland-Garros last month, but was back to her best as she emerged a 6-3 6-1 victor in Toronto. 

The four-time grand slam champion wasted no time in stamping her authority on proceedings, earning a two break points to take a 3-0 lead early on. 

And that would prove decisive, with the world number 95 seeing out the rest of her service games, closing out the first set with a love game. 

Jabeur would have no response to Osaka's stunning display, with the Japanese finding another pivotal break before winning the remaining three games to confirm the win. 

Osaka will face Elise Mertens in the round of 32 after the Belgian beat Katie Volynets in straight sets earlier in the day. 

Data Debrief: Osaka over Olympics disappointment

Having suffered disappointment in Paris, Osaka responded in emphatic style upon her return to the court and will want to continue that momentum moving forward. 

Osaka converted all three of the break points she had, winning all eight of her service games. 

It proved to be a difficult day at the office for Jabeur, who uncharacteristcally served seven double faults throughout the contest compared to Osaka's four. 

Victoria Azarenka reached a career milestone with her straight-sets victory in the opening round of the Canadian Open on Tuesday.

She overcame Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova 6-2 6-2 to book her place in the round of 32 in one hour and 17 minutes in Toronto.

In the process, Azarenka became the first player to claim 150 straight-set wins at WTA-1000 events, excluding retirements, since the format's introduction in 2009.

The Belarusian already had the most straight-set wins at WTA-1000 events, but now has 18 more than second-place Agnieszka Radwanska (132).

Azarenka is chasing her first title at the Canadian Open, having reached the semi-finals twice in her previous 11 appearances.

Paula Badosa is back to feeling like she is an athlete again after claiming victory at the Washington Open.

Badosa, the former world number two, is back in the WTA's top 50 following Sunday's 6-1 4-6 6-4 defeat of Marie Bouzkova.

It marks the Spaniard's fourth Tour-level title but her first since she triumphed in Sydney at the start of the 2022 season.

Last year was a difficult one for Badosa, who sustained a stress fracture in her back and subsequently dropped out of the top 100.

But now she is back to feeling like her old self.

"What I went through the last year, for me being back, winning big titles like a [WTA] 500, [beating] the best players in the world, being competing against them again, for me it means a lot," said Badosa, who downed Emma Raducanu en route to clinching the trophy.

"That's why I had this mix of emotions. I was really, really nervous because I really wanted it really badly.

"One year ago I was on the couch, so it's a big difference now. Now I'm an athlete again.

"Even before the tournament I was feeling good, I was feeling confident.

"I think I needed to win something, a big title for me. Because of my personality, I'm not happy always with finals and semi-finals. I want to win titles.

"I'm [a] perfectionist. Of course, that sometimes brings me down, but also in important moments I think it gives me [something] extra. I felt I needed this moment very much."

Italy's Jasmine Paolini and Sara Errani came from behind against Mirra Andreeva and Diana Shnaider to snatch Olympic gold in the women's doubles.

Having lost the doubles final at the French Open in June, Paolini and Errani dug deep to win 2-6 6-1 10-7 on Court Philippe-Chatrier in one hour and 25 minutes to earn Italy's first Games gold medal in tennis.

Russia-born pair Andreeva and Shnaider – competing for the Individual Neutral Athletes – made a perfect start, with a three-game winning run in the first half putting them out of the Italians' reach.

Paolini and Errani successfully defended two break points to make it 4-2 and end that run, but they lost their serve to love in the final game to fall behind.

However, the Italian pair rallied brilliantly in the second set, earning a break in the first game to set the tone.

Andreeva and Shnaider managed to claw a game back to make it 2-1, but their opponents quickly shut down any hopes of a comeback.

The Italians won each of the next four games, holding their nerve at the end to get a third break of the set and force a tie-break.

Paolini and Errani remained in control for the decider, earning two more breaks as they stormed to a historic gold medal.

Data Debrief: Italians get the job done with historic gold

After coming agonisingly close at the French Open two months ago, Paolini and Errani finally got their hands on a big win.

Not only was it the first-ever gold medal for Italy in any of the tennis events at the Olympics, but the first medal of any colour for Italian women.

Errani has also completed the career golden slam in women's doubles, having won all four major titles in the paired grand slam competitions between 2012 and 2014, alongside Roberta Vinci. 

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.