It looks like the tables are turning just ahead of the US Open. While Iga Swiatek lagged behind the likes of Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff for the bulk of this this season, she’s slowly but steadily closing down the gap. The Pole recently won the Wimbledon Championships and is going strong at the ongoing Cincinnati Open. Swiatek is into the semifinals of the tournament and is looking good to continue her winning run. Moreover, she could be in for a massive upgrade at Coco Gauff’s expense at the US Open.

While the Pole is into the last four in Cincinnati, Gauff suffered a shock loss against Jasmine Paolini. In the quarterfinal battle between the two, the American sensation began the match on the front foot, but lost the momentum to surrender the next two sets to bow out of the tournament. With this loss, she has given a chance to Iga Swiatek to overtake her in the WTA rankings.

According to the live WTA rankings, Swiatek is trailing Gauff by 736 points. The Pole is currently in the third spot and can overtake Gauff if she manages to win the Cincinnati Open title. If Swiatek wins the trophy there, she will reach 7,933 ranking points, ahead of Gauff’s tally of 7,669 points. However, this isn’t the only boost that Swiatek would get if she manages to win in Cincinnati. The Pole would also attain the second seeding at the US Open, avoiding a potential clash with Aryna Sabalenka till the finals. This could prove to be a huge boost to Swiatek if she manages to win her next two matches in Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, Swiatek is reaping the success of hard work after a tough start to the season. Although she failed to win a title for over 12 months before achieving success at Wimbledon this year, Swiatek never lost her belief and came back strongly to be back to her best. Additionally, the Pole herself admitted to putting on a good show ahead of the US Open.

Iga Swiatek delivers a candid take on her performance

Leaving aside her slip-up at the National Bank Open, where she lost in the pre-quarterfinals, Swiatek has been delivering some strong performances lately. Take the example of the Wimbledon final, where she blanked Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 to win her maiden title there.

Moreover, Swiatek is yet to break a sweat at the Cincinnati Open, winning every set en route to her semifinal appearance. Yesterday, Swiatek had a confident win over Anna Kalinskaya and compared that performance to her Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships loss against the same opponent.

Swiatek said, “For sure, the match was much different [from last year], I’m really happy that I was proactive from the very beginning, I could play my game. It wasn’t easy, so I’m happy that I was solid and that I had enough intensity to put on the pressure. There’s no secret, I just drink… water. Honestly, we kind of need to get used to it with how the world is changing; it’s going to get worse and worse, I guess.”

The Pole will now face Elena Rybakina in the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open. All-in-all, it looks like some promising times ahead for Swiatek, and she will definitely be one of the hot favorites in New York.