The Cincinnati Open has not always had the biggest stars reaching the final.
Cincinnati hosts one of the biggest annual tournaments on the WTA calendar, and is used as preparation for the final Grand Slam tournament of the year at the US Open.
Some of the notable champions at the Cincinnati Open over the years include Serena Williams, Maria Sharapova and Iga Swiatek.
Players including Simona Halep, Petra Kvitova and Jessica Pegula have been runners-up in Cincinnati, and five years ago it was a wildcard who made it all the way to the final.
Jil Teichmann reached the Cincinnati Open final in 2021
Jil Teichmann had achieved a career-high ranking of world number 40 in April 2021, which came after she enjoyed a breakthrough run to the semi-finals of the WTA 1000 tournament in Dubai.
However, a left leg injury forced Teichmann out of action, as she missed tournaments including Roland Garros.
As a result of this injury, Teichmann came into the 2021 Cincinnati Open both out of form and outside the world’s top 70.
This ranking meant that Teichmann was only able to get into qualifying, but she was rewarded for her previous results by being granted a wildcard.
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Teichmann took full advantage of this wildcard, as she beat the likes of Naomi Osaka, Karolina Pliskova and her compatriot Belinda Bencic to reach the Cincinnati Open final.
In this final, Teichmann would face world number one Ash Barty, who would prove to be one opposition too much for the Swiss, as she was beaten 6-3, 6-1.
Although she was unable to clinch the title in Cincinnati, Teichmann was boosted back into the top 50 as a result of her breakthrough run.
What has happened to Jil Teichmann since reaching the Cincinnati Open final?
Teichmann has been on a rollercoaster trajectory since her run to the Cincinnati Open final in 2021.
The Swiss continued to rise up the rankings after her Cincinnati Open final, with Teichmann enjoying a particularly successful clay court season the following year.
After reaching the semi-finals of the Madrid Open, the quarter-finals of the Italian Open and the fourth round of Roland Garros, Teichmann reached a career-high ranking of world number 21.
It has been more of a struggle for Teichmann since then, with injuries and poor form causing her to fall to as low as world number 230 in 2024.
However, Teichmann had a resurgence in 2025, as she reached her first WTA Tour final since the Cincinnati Open in 2021 at the Iasi Open.
This enabled Teichmann to make a brief return to the top 100, but injuries have returned to disrupt the 29-year-old once again.
Despite equalling her best Grand Slam result at Roland Garros this year by reaching the fourth round, Teichmann has only been able to play eight tournaments this year.
As a result, Teichmann is currently the world number 167 and has been forced to withdraw from the entire North American hard court swing, including the Cincinnati Open and the US Open, due to a right leg injury.
Teichmann has actually not won a single match at the Cincinnati Open since her run to the final in 2021.
The one positive for Teichmann is that she only has 41 ranking points to defend until 2027, giving her an opportunity to climb back up the rankings if she is able to recover from her injury.
