Aug 27 (Reuters) - Iga Swiatek heads to the U.S. Open chasing a seventh Grand Slam title after her first trophy of the season in Canada offered signs that the former world number one is rediscovering the form that made her a dominant force in women's tennis.
In the U.S. Open tune-up a fortnight ago, the 25-year-old snapped an 11-month title drought by beating world number two Elena Rybakina in the Toronto final for her 12th WTA 1000 crown.
She carried that momentum into Cincinnati, where she won four more matches to reach the semi-finals and extend her winning streak to 10.
That run ended against third seed Jessica Pegula, but Swiatek still saw progress in a hardcourt swing that has restored some of the confidence that appeared to be missing earlier in the season.
"We made some steps forward in this intensive part of the season," Swiatek said after the defeat.
In the first half of the year, Swiatek endured an unusually difficult run by her standards. She reached the Australian Open quarter-finals before losing to eventual champion Rybakina, fell in the fourth round at Roland Garros and exited Wimbledon in the third round as she failed to defend her title.
She now heads to New York with a different outlook after finding her footing on North American hard courts, looking to turn her recent resurgence into a deep Grand Slam run.
Having slipped to number eight in the world after her Cincinnati exit, Swiatek arrives at Flushing Meadows with an added incentive in the final major of the season.
After her first major title at Roland Garros in 2020, the Pole has won at least one Grand Slam title in every season since 2022 and will be eager to maintain that record.
Swiatek will draw on her previous success in New York, where she claimed her only U.S. Open title in 2022 by beating Ons Jabeur in the final. She has not reached the semi-finals since, exiting in the quarter-finals in each of the last two editions.
(Reporting by Janina Nuno Rios in Mexico CityEditing by Toby Davis)
