Chwalińska beats Bucsa 6:2, 6:2 in Cincinnati for first WTA 1000 career win

Breakthrough in Cincinnati

Maja Chwalińska, seeded 19th at the Cincinnati Open, defeated Spain's Cristina Bucsa 6:2, 6:2 in the second round of the WTA 1000 tournament on Saturday, August 15. The victory marks the 24-year-old's first career win at a WTA 1000-level event and her first match win since reaching the Roland Garros final in June. Chwalińska received a first-round bye as a seeded player.

The Polish player, currently ranked 23rd in the WTA standings, had endured a difficult stretch since her Grand Slam breakthrough in Paris. She injured her ankle on match point during the first round of Wimbledon, then lost her opening match in Toronto to Australia's Talia Gibson 5:7, 1:6. The Cincinnati main-draw debut, against a player who had beaten her twice before in qualifiers (at an ITF event in 2019 and in Madrid Open qualifying in 2025), offered a chance to reset.

Match dynamics

Chwalińska took control of the first set from 1:1, winning four consecutive games. She earned three break points in the fourth game, converting with a forehand winner down the line, and broke again in the sixth game with a strong return. Bucsa briefly resisted at 5:1, creating break points of her own and taking Chwalińska's serve after a double fault from the Pole. The set closed at 6:2 when Bucsa double-faulted on Chwalińska's fourth set point.

The second set was interrupted by a rain storm at 1:1 and 30-15, with the delay lasting approximately 1.5 hours. After the restart, Chwalińska dropped her serve with a double fault but quickly recovered, breaking Bucsa to love in the fourth game and winning five consecutive games from 1:2 to close the match.

Opponent's struggles

Bucsa, ranked 38th and the 2025 champion of the WTA 500 event in Mérida (where she beat Magdalena Fręch in the final), arrived in Cincinnati on the back of an eight-match losing streak. She had snapped that run two days earlier by defeating Hungary's Panna Udvardy 6:2, 1:6, 7:5 in the first round. Spanish newspaper AS reported that the 28-year-old struggled with a thigh injury during the match and required bandaging.

Nacho Albarran, writing for AS, described Bucsa's performance as nightmarish, noting she committed numerous errors, at times inexplicably, and showed a lack of energy and resignation in her play. Tennisworldusa.org's Dzevad Mesic praised Chwalińska's composure after the rain delay, writing that the Pole did not panic and completely dominated the rest of the set.

Polish experts react

Polish tennis commentators welcomed the win as a confidence-builder. Eurosport commentator Dawid Żbik noted the calm display, calling it a match that was winnable on paper but not guaranteed after a series of losses. Marek Furjan described it as a solid opening to a big tournament with the match under Chwalińska's control. Adam Romer, editor of Tenisklub magazine, pointed out that the Cincinnati courts, with their high bounce, suit Chwalińska's game.

What's next

Chwalińska's third-round opponent will be either 14th seed Diana Sznajder of Russia or Germany's Tatjana Maria, with that match scheduled for Monday, August 17. Chwalińska defeated Sznajder 7:6(4), 6:4 in the Roland Garros semifinal. The Cincinnati Open runs through August 23, with the champion earning 1,000 ranking points and $1.086 million in prize money. Other Polish players remain in the draw: Magdalena Fręch faces Jelena Ostapenko (seeded 26) on Saturday, and defending champion Iga Świątek plays Colombian qualifier Emiliana Arango on Sunday. Magda Linette was eliminated in the first round.