World third-ranked Iga Swiatek captured the WTA Cincinnati Open women's singles title by defeating No. 7 Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4 on Monday night.

Swiatek had won all six meetings against the Italian, dropping only one set in those matches.

Paolini jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first set but Swiatek roared back to go ahead 5-3. Paolini broke serve to get even at 5-5, but Swiatek closed out the first-set 7-5 in 56 minutes.

Swiatek's eighth ace of the match gave her a 5-3 advantage in the second set. Paolini broke serve twice in the second set and was within 5-4, but Swiatek was able to serve out the match for her 24th career singles title.

She had failed to advance past the semifinals in her six previous appearances at the Cincinnati Open. Swiatek reached the semifinals in Cincinnati in each of the past two years, but lost to eventual champions Coco Gauff in 2023 and Aryna Sabalenka in 2024.

"I'm shocked and super happy with the way I have played over the last few months," Swiatek said while thanking her coach Wim Fissette and her wider team after another big win. "I don't know why I won tournaments that were like the last ones in terms of where I thought I would be playing well. So thank you for forcing me to become a better player and learning how to play on these faster surfaces. Thank you for the constant support to my team and my family back home."

Paolini is the first Italian woman to reach the final in Cincinnati. She was a qualifier at the Cincinnati Open in 2023, but since then Paolini has reached two Grand Slam singles finals, won a Grand Slam doubles title and an Olympic gold medal.

The Cincinnati Open is considered a tuneup for the U.S. Open, which will begin on Sunday in New York. The last two years, both the men's and women's Cincinnati Open champions went on to win the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.