Gauff Moves Into Next Round In Cincinnati After Yastremska Withdraws

Tuesday, 12 August 2025 at 19:26

byErik Virostko

Coco Gauff made it to the fourth round of the 2025 Cincinnati Open without having to lift a finger.

Gauff's last few months have been a proper rollercoaster. She won the French Open, but she then didn't win a single match on the grass courts. The two players who beat her were Xinyu Wang and Dayana Yastremska.

Coincidentally, the American player was given a great chance to get revenge for both of those losses. At the WTA 1000 event in Cincinnati, she was drawn against Xinyu Wang in the second round, and she beat the Chinese player.

After that, she was supposed to take on Dayana Yastremska in the third round, but the Ukrainian withdrew prior to their meeting, sending Gauff to the fourth round of the 2025 Cincinnati Open.

Yastremska withdrew due to an illness, likely not wanting to risk ahead of the US Open. The Ukrainian player still has the tournament in Cleveland on her schedule, but it's hard to see her playing in Cleveland after withdrawing from the tournament in Cincinnati.

For Gauff, it's a similar scenario to the one that Iga Swiatek experienced. Her opponent, coincidentally also a Ukrainian, withdrew ahead of their third-round match too.

Gauff reached the fourth round in Montreal, but lost to the 18-year-old Victoria Mboko, who ended up lifting the trophy on home soil. It was her maiden WTA 1000 title.

In Cincinnati, Gauff will await the winner of the match between Jelena Ostapenko and Lucia Bronzetti in the fourth round. After that, the American's quarter-final opponent could be the seventh-seeded Jasmine Paolini.

What Coco Gauff had to say after her opening win in Cincinnati

Gauff was impressive against Xinyu Wang in her first match in Cincinnati, beating her 6-3, 6-2, and speaking on the Tennis Channel desk after her win, the two-time Grand Slam champion was delighted about her performance.

"Off the ground, it felt pretty good. I had a shaky start with the serve, but I was able to push through and figure that out. I felt good off the ground all week, playing in practice, so I'm glad I had a chance today. It's definitely a little bit faster than Montreal, so definitely an adjustment that I'm still adjusting to."

Gauff will now have a few days to prepare for her fourth-round match. Her disadvantage will be the lack of matches in Cincinnati this year. On the other hand, she will be more rested than her opponent. She also had a chance to do that after losing early at Wimbledon.

"My break was like, I was practicing still, like four hours, five hours a day. For me, it was just to be able to rediscover my game, and myself, especially, being an American, being in Europe for a while, you're just used to hotel-court, hotel-court. It's hard to find time to do things on your own, I think that's the biggest part I've learned on Tour, that it's important to get out, so I force myself to do stuff."