Czech player Sara Bejlek, currently ranked 35th, delivered a significant upset at the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals by beating American Madison Keys 3-6 6-4 7-6 after recovering from a set deficit and trailing 3-1 in the second set. The unseeded 20-year-old's breakthrough run has seen her overcome three elite opponents, most notably world number one Aryna Sabalenka and three-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova, as she pursues her second WTA title following her Abu Dhabi Open victory in February.

Bejlek will face fourth-seeded American Coco Gauff in the semi-finals after Gauff's convincing 6-2 6-2 victory over Ukraine's tenth-seeded Marta Kostyuk. Gauff has now reached three consecutive WTA semi-finals and attributes her recent tactical improvements to increased net play, a strategic adjustment she has developed since Wimbledon and has refined during her Cincinnati run. The tournament precedes the US Open, which begins later this month.