Cincinnati Open Heats Up as Osaka Withdraws, Boulter Breaks Through and McNally Advances
The Cincinnati Open is already moving.
Naomi Osaka is out before playing a match.
Katie Boulter finally has her first Cincinnati victory.
And hometown favourite Caty McNally has given the Ohio crowd an early lift.
The combined ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event is under way in Mason, Ohio, with opening-round action continuing across both draws.
Osaka pulls out before first match
The biggest early withdrawal came from four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
The WTA confirmed that Osaka withdrew from Cincinnati citing fatigue after recent runs in Washington and Toronto.
Her withdrawal removed one of the tournament’s biggest names before she played a match and shifted attention toward her next scheduled major assignment at the US Open.
There is no need to stretch the explanation further.
The official reason is fatigue.
Boulter finally breaks through in Cincinnati
Katie Boulter had never won a main-draw match at the Cincinnati Open before this week.
That changed against Katie Volynets.
Boulter won 7-5, 0-6, 6-4 to secure her first career victory at the tournament and move into a second-round meeting with Linda Noskova.
It was not a clean route.
Boulter took the opening set, was blanked in the second and then recovered to take the decider.
That response gives her next match immediate tension.
A first Cincinnati win is in the bank.
Now comes the test of whether she can turn the breakthrough into a deeper run.
McNally gives the home crowd something to celebrate
Caty McNally also moved through the opening round with a straight-sets victory over fellow American McCartney Kessler.
McNally won 6-3, 6-4, adding a home-city storyline to the early tournament action.
For a Cincinnati native, this event carries a different emotional weight.
And after returning from surgery, an opening-round victory at home gives the tournament one of its strongest local hooks.
Monfils takes his final Cincinnati bow
The opening round has also carried a farewell note.
Gael Monfils completed his 14th and final Cincinnati appearance, with the Frenchman set to retire at the end of the 2026 season.
His history at the event includes a quarter-final run in 2011 and a notable victory over Carlos Alcaraz during his 2024 appearance.
So while Cincinnati is building toward the deeper rounds, one familiar name has already taken his final bow in Ohio.
Friday’s programme is already moving
Friday’s first-round programme is under way, with fresh results continuing to arrive across the tournament.
The ATP and WTA draws are still in their opening phase, and many leading seeds are either preparing to enter or deepen their campaigns as the early rounds continue.
This is still the front edge of Cincinnati.
The biggest matches are ahead.
But the tournament has already delivered disruption, breakthrough and farewell.
Osaka is gone before playing.
Boulter has finally broken through.
McNally has given the home crowd a lift.
And Monfils has said goodbye to Cincinnati.
The tournament is already moving.
