Coco Gauff of Boca Raton, Florida won the women’s singles event and Arthur Fils of Courcouronnes, France won the men’s singles event at the 2026 Cincinnati Open. According to Tennis My Life, this is only the second time in the Open Era that two black athletes won the singles tennis tournament in the same city in the same year.
Gauff defeated American Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-4 in the women’s singles final in Cincinnati on Sunday. Gauff, who was seeded fourth, had a strong return game as Pegula did not have a single ace. Gauff also broke the third seeded Pegula five times in six opportunities and had the statistical advantage when it came to winning percentage on the first serve. Gauff was at 67% and Pegula was at 46%.
This was the first all-American women’s single final in Cincinnati in 56 years. The last all-American women’s singles final at the Cincinnati Open came in 1970. Rosie Calas of San Francisco, California defeated Nancy Richey of San Angelo, Texas 6-3, 6-3.
In Cincinnati over the last 10 days, Gauff defeated three other seeded opponents. She defeated American Ann Li 6-1, 7-6 in the third round, the 22nd seed Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-2 in the fourth round, and Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk 6-2, 6-2, the 10th seed, in the quarterfinals.
In the men’s final, Fils, the 21st seed, defeated Frances Tiafoe of the United States, the 17th seed, 6-3, 1-6, 6-0 in the first ATP Masters 1000 series singles final ever featuring two black male athletes. Fils had the service statistical advantage. He had 11 aces and one double fault, and Tiafoe had four aces and four double faults. Fils also had a first serve percentage of 59% and Tiafoe had a first serve percentage of 39%.
Tiafoe was one of four seeded opponents that Fils defeated in Cincinnati. He also beat the ninth seed Jiri Lehecka of the Czech Republic, 6-1, 6-7, 6-3 in the third round, the fifth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, 6-3, 6-4 in the fourth round, and the seventh seed, and French Open finalist, Flavio Cobolli of Italy, 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinals.
This was Gauff’s 12th singles title on the WTA Tour and first in 2026. She previously won the 2023 Cincinnati Open. In the Ohio final three years ago, Gauff defeated Karolina Muchova of the Czech Republic, 6-3, 6-4.
Fils has now won five ATP events. He previously won the 2023 Lyon Open, the 2024 Hamburg Open, the 2024 Japan Open, and the 2026 Barcelona Open. In Spain earlier this year on clay, Fils defeated Andrey Rublev of Russia in the final, 6-2, 7-6.
The first time two black athletes won the same men’s and women’s singles titles in the same city in the same year came in 2025 in Adelaide, Australia. Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada defeated Sebastian Korda of the United States, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 in the men’s final, and Madison Keys of the United States defeated Pegula 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 in the women’s final.
