Iga Swiatek defeated Maria Sakkari 4-6, 6-1, 6-1 in the third round of the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati after recovering from a set down.
The victory marks the second time in nine days that the Polish world number five has turned around a match after dropping the opening set, signaling a major shift in her tactical composure.
Swiatek, a five-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one, is seeking her first title at the hard-court event in Mason, Ohio. The Cincinnati Open is one of nine WTA 1000 tournaments on the women professional circuit, serving as a primary warm-up event ahead of the US Open.
Sakkari, currently ranked 32nd in the world, dominated the opening set by holding serve comfortably to love, to 30 twice, and to 15 twice. The Greek former world number three won 24 of 30 points on her serve during the first set, leaving Swiatek without a single opportunity to break.
Sakkari maintained high intensity in the groundstroke rallies throughout the set to claim the lead at 6-4. A two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, Sakkari reached her career-high ranking of world number three in 2022 before dropping outside the top 30.
Following the first set, Sakkari coach Tom Hill told his player that her performance had been excellent. Swiatek then took a locker room break to change her sweat-soaked clothing as conditions in Cincinnati reached high temperatures and humidity levels exceeding 90 percent.
Locker room break and tactical adjustment
Swiatek returned from the break with renewed patience and consistency, quickly taking control of the rally exchanges. Her coach, Francisco Roig, called out words of encouragement from her box in Spanish, urging her onward after returning to her coaching team in Cincinnati.
Roig had missed the previous tournament in Toronto due to a scheduled break. A former Spanish professional player, Roig previously spent over a decade as part of Rafael Nadal coaching team before joining Swiatek in early April, guiding her to a tournament title following several months of work.
The turnaround against Sakkari echoed a similar recovery by Swiatek nine days earlier in Canada. On August 8, Swiatek lost the opening set 3-6 against Ukrainian player Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round of the WTA 1000 event in Toronto, dropping all four of her service games and winning just one of 17 points on serve.
Previous comeback against Kostyuk in Toronto
After taking a dressing room break in that match, Swiatek won the final two sets 6-1, 6-2 without losing her serve again. The victory over Kostyuk broke a six-month stretch during which Swiatek had failed to win any match after losing the opening set.
Prior to August, Swiatek had recorded only two comeback wins in 2026 after dropping the first set. She defeated Eva Lys 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 at the United Cup in Australia on January 5, and beat Daria Kasatkina 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open in Doha on February 11, before losing six consecutive matches in which she fell behind by a set.
Following Wimbledon, Swiatek spent three weeks training with Roig during a month-long break from competitive play. Commentators, coaches, and former players had previously noted that Swiatek lost her composure during difficult moments in matches earlier in the season.
Post-Wimbledon training and mental composure
At the start of the tournament in Toronto, Swiatek stated that her three-week block with Roig was their longest and most productive period of training together. She also noted at the time that she felt the most stressful part of her season had already passed.
Against Sakkari, Swiatek remained calm and maintained her baseline strategy rather than forcing changes. She built rallies patiently around a reliable serve and solid forehand, showing none of the panic that had affected her game in earlier months.
Swiatek now holds a 4-9 record in 2026 in matches where she dropped the first set, having won four of 13 such contests. That contrast remains sharp compared to her dominant 2022 season, when she won 10 of 16 matches after losing the opening set.
Comeback statistics across top WTA players
Winning after losing the first set remains difficult in best-of-three-set tennis across the women tour. World number one Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus holds a 3-4 record in such matches this season, while world number two Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan stands at 8-8.
World number four Coco Gauff of the United States leads the tour in total comeback victories this year, winning 11 of 21 matches after losing the first set. World number three Jessica Pegula, also of the United States, holds the most impressive win rate, recovering to win 10 out of 15 matches in which she fell behind by a set.
