The 6 women to reach Canadian and Cincinnati Open finals in same year – as Jessica Pegula continues epic run
After a tricky 2024 season, Jessica Pegula has been back in full flight on the North American hard courts.
The world No 6 claimed her second title of the year at the Canadian Open in Toronto and now finds herself in her first Cincinnati Open final.
It is a tough double to achieve, and only six women have ever reached both finals in the same season.
Rosie Casals – 1970
A two-time US Open runner-up, Casals won one of the biggest singles titles of her career at the 1970 Cincinnati Open.
The world No 3 beat fellow American Nancy Richey 6-3, 6-3 to lift the title.
A few weeks later she reached the Canadian Open final, but was beaten by Margaret Court.
Evonne Goolagong – 1972, 1973
One of the best players of the 1970s, Australian Goolagong reached the final of both tournaments in 1972 and 1973.
In 1972 she was beaten by long-term rival Court in the Cincinnati final, though bounced back later that month to beat Virginia Wade in the Canadian Open.
The following year she won both events, defeating Chris Evert in Cincinnati and then Helga Niessen Masthoff in Canada.
It should be noted that, while both Casals and Goolagong reached both finals in the same year, the tournaments were not held in consecutive weeks at that stage.
Li Na – 2012
The first woman to reach the finals of the two tournaments consecutively was Chinese great Na, with the former world No 2 doing so back in 2012.
The two-time major winner finished as the runner-up in Canada, beating the likes of Sara Errani and Agnieszka Radwanska to reach the final, before a three-set loss to Petra Kvitova.
However, she bounced back the following week to win her only WTA 1000 title.
Na defeated top seed Radwanska and Venus Williams to set up a final versus Angelique Kerber, and she came from a set down to lift the title.
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Serena Williams – 2013
The fact that Williams could only achieve this feat once highlights just how tricky of a double it is.
Amid one of the most dominant seasons of her career, the former world No 1 did not drop a set on her way to a third Canadian Open title, defeating Radwanska in the last four before thrashing Sorana Cirstea in the final.
That was followed immediately by a run to the Cincinnati final, easing past Simona Halep and Agnieszka Radwanska on her way to the championship match.
However, there was to be no double, the American beaten by Victoria Azarenka in three sets.
Simona Halep – 2015, 2018
Impressively, former world No 1 Halep twice reached both finals in consecutive weeks.
The first time she did so was in 2015, though she would unfortunately taste defeat in both matches.
Halep retired injured in the Canadian Open final versus Belinda Benci, before losing to Serena in the Cincinnati final.
However, after winning her first Canada title in 2016, she claimed a second in 2018 by defeating Sloane Stephens in an epic contest.
And she was agonisingly close to completing the double, holding a championship point before falling to Kiki Bertens in Cincinnati.
Jessica Pegula – 2024
Pegula is now on a nine-match win streak – the joint-best of her career – and is a win away from a historic achievement.
The US star’s resurgence started in Toronto a week ago, where she became the first woman in 24 years to successfully defend her Canadian Open title.
She beat Peyton Stearns and Diana Shnaider to reach the final, where she battled past Amanda Anisimova to retain her title – the sixth WTA singles crown of her career.
This past week in Cincinnati, Pegula has beaten the likes of Leylah Fernandez and Paula Badosa to reach the final, and now faces Aryna Sabalenka in the final.
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