Iga Swiatek halts on-court Cincinnati Open interview as star baffled after making final

Iga Swiatek was left puzzled during her on-court interview after earning progression into the Cincinnati Open final. The Polish ace defeated Elena Rybakina at the WTA 1000 event, and will take on either Veronika Kudermetova or Jasmine Paolini in the final.

Swiatek was pushed hard by Rybakina, but never looked particularly troubled. Having taken the opening set by virtue of a 7-5 win, she wrapped up the match with a much more comfortable 6-3 triumph in the second set.

But during her post-match debrief, Swiatek was left scratching her head by what she thought was rain starting to fall in the sky. While answering a question, the Wimbledon victor - appearing very confused - halted the interview, before asking: "Wait, rain?"

The interviewer quickly checked the sky, noticed there wasn't any rain and jokingly responded with: "No, no, it was probably me spitting on you when I'm asking you a question." Swiatek, still confused, added: "I just heard something, I thought it was thunder, nevermind it's in my mind."

When quizzed on her performance in general, Swiatek was much more upbeat, saying: "At the beginning, the level was pretty crazy. We played so fast that sometimes we couldn't run to the second ball. I was there to play with intensity & good quality. I'm super happy with the performance."

She continued: "Anyone in the final is going to be super tough, so I have to think tactically. I will focus on myself and do what I've been doing, because for sure I feel like there's been progress at this tournament. I just want to continue that, no matter what the result is...

"I feel the love here, it's a great place to be. People of Cincinnati are so nice, everywhere we go, even though we're here to play, we feel like we can have peace and just relax when off the court. So thank you guys for coming out, rooting for us and see you tomorrow!"

Swiatek will have the chance to pick up her first WTA 1000 title since victory in Rome last year when she takes to the court on Monday. In the men's draw, it's a repeat of the previous two Grand Slam finals, with Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner set to go head-to-head.