Champions Corner: Sabalenka and Pegula keeping calm ahead of US Open

Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula have every right to get ahead of themselves. But the two WTA 1000 summer champions are too experienced to fall for that trap.

Pegula came into the North American hard-court swing sitting at No.20 on the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Leaderboard. She put on her hard hat and proceeded to win nine matches in 12 days across two cities. The 30-year-old American picked up her third career WTA 1000 title at the National Bank Open in Toronto. Then she became the third American to ever make the Cincinnati final in the same year.

View the PIF Race to the WTA Finals here!

Her quest for history -- no woman had swept Canada and Cincinnati in the same season since 1973 -- was thwarted by an unstoppable Aryna Sabalenka in the Cincinnati final. But Pegula will head to New York right where she belongs: in the Top 8 of the PIF Race to the WTA Finals Standings and, just as importantly, back in the conversation. She says she hasn't felt this calm about her tennis since last season.

"I don't stress about defending points," Pegula said, "but at least now knowing that I put myself in a good position for the end of the year to do well, to maybe make the Finals -- I know that I had finals defending from last year, and I think that was the only thing that kind of stressed me out a little bit.

"I know that I am at least putting myself in a good position to get a chance to defend, which takes a lot of pressure off."

After her grinding, physical effort over the last two weeks, Pegula will head home for some serious couch time before heading to the swirling cauldron of noise and pressure at the US Open. She'll rest easy as she recharges, knowing that she's back to playing the tennis that buoyed her inside the Top 5 for much of the last three years.

Sabalenka ended her title drought in dominating fashion in Cincinnati. She did not lose a set and, in the hallmark of her title run, snapped her three-match losing streak to No.1 Iga Swiatek with an emphatic 6-3, 6-3 win in the semifinals. Through it all, Sabalenka never looked panicked or concerned. It was the same aura she had when she won her first Australian Open title two years ago.

"I think I was really emotional in Washington and Toronto coming back after after injury," Sabalenka said. "I was overreacting, and I just stepped back and realized that I played my great tennis when I was calm and confident, that no matter what's what's going on the court, I'll be able to keep fighting and keep trying my best no matter what the score, what the situation is.

"And I just realized that I have to be that way. There is no, no other way for me if I want to, if I want to do well here and New York."

With that idea, Sabalenka used Cincinnati as a practice week, not for tennis, but for the mind. It's no surprise that emotional control would be on Sabalenka's mind ahead of the last Grand Slam of the year. Her last three forays at the US Open have ended in three-set heartbreak, where she found herself in a winning position only to let her emotions get the better of her.

"I was kind of like, I'm gonna be calm from the beginning to the end of the match," Sabalenka said. "Even if I lose the match easily, I have to stay calm. I have to practice that. And I have to have this belief that I'll be able to turn around that match no matter what the situation is."

As Toronto and Cincinnati showed, the level of tennis is there for both Sabalenka and Pegula to power through to the business end of the US Open. But after a quick reset, both champions will be wary of what's to come.

"You go into a Slam, and I'm like, 'Oh, man, I did so well the last couple weeks," Pegula said. "But like, you want to do it in a Slam even more. So now you got to start over, and the anxiety and all the stress just comes right back."

Here are some more memorable moments and notable achievements from the back-to-back WTA 1000 events in Toronto and Cincinnati:

Honor Roll

Amanda Anisimova: After taking an eight-month hiatus last year, the 22-year-old is already back in the mix. Anisimova made her first WTA 1000 final in Toronto, beating four Top 20 players consecutively en route. Anisimova has returned to the Top 50 and was rewarded with a US Open main-draw wild card for her efforts.

Diana Shnaider: It has been a sterling breakthrough season for the 20-year-old, who has already won an Olympic silver medal in doubles and three titles this year -- on three different surfaces. Shnaider made her first WTA 1000 semifinal in Toronto, and with it garnered a Top 20 debut.

Taylor Townsend: With as many eye-catching performances as Townsend has given us, it was surprising that she had never reached a tour-level quarterfinal before this summer. That all changed in a big way, when she reached the elite eight at WTA 1000 Toronto.

Paula Badosa: The former World No.2 has risen over 100 spots in the rankings this summer after injuries hindered her last year. Following her Washington title early in the month, Badosa made the Cincinnati semifinals this week. She has gone 10-2 during this hardcourt swing.

Asia Muhammad and Erin Routliffe: The best friends got to team up for the very first time in Cincinnati, and they went all the way to the title. It was the first WTA 1000 title for both; WTA Doubles World No.1 Routliffe had gone 0-4 in her previous WTA 1000 finals.

From the Camera Roll

When in Canada...Daria Kasatkina and Jelena Ostapenko were among the WTA stars who converted the tennis court into a spot for hockey ahead of the National Bank Open.

In Cincinnati, 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva made it all the way to the quarterfinals -- and nearly notched her first win over World No.1 Iga Swiatek -- with some assistance from her coach, Wimbledon champion and Hall of Famer Conchita Martinez.

Notable Numbers

10: Jessica Pegula is the first woman to win 10 straight matches at the National Bank Open since Serena Williams won 14 straight matches from 2011 through 2014. Pegula spanned two different sites for her success, winning the event in Montreal last year and Toronto this year.

132: Ranked No.132 entering Toronto, Amanda Anisimova is the second-lowest-ranked WTA 1000 finalist since the WTA 1000 tier began in 2009. She is topped only by former World No.2 Svetlana Kuznetsova, who was ranked No.150 when she made the 2019 Cincinnati final.

30: Iga Swiatek's quarterfinal win over Mirra Andreeva in Cincinnati was her 30th win at a WTA 1000 event this year. Swiatek is just the second player to win 30 or more WTA 1000 main-draw matches in a single year since 2009 -- the first was Serena Williams in 2013 (36).

3: The Cincinnati Open returned to the tour calendar in 2004, for the first time since the 1980s. Since its reintroduction, only three players have won the Cincinnati title without dropping a set: Vera Zvonareva in 2006, Ashleigh Barty in 2021, and Aryna Sabalenka this year.

Hot Shot

Leylah Fernandez was finding all the sections of the court during her run to the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals.

Next Up

Two events take place this week as the North American summer hard-court season maintains high gear. The WTA 500 Abierto GNP Seguros will be held in Monterrey, Mexico, with Danielle Collins, Emma Navarro and Elina Svitolina among the top seeds vying for the title.

Monterrey: Scores | Order of Play | Draws
Cleveland: Scores | Order of Play | Draws

The tour also stays in Ohio, moving from Cincinnati to Cleveland for the WTA 250 Tennis in the Land powered by Rocket Mortgage. Beatriz Haddad Maia and Leylah Fernandez are the top two seeds, while Sara Sorribes Tormo returns to defend her title.