After four full days of main draw action at the Veolia Cincinnati Showcase presented by Six Zero, the semifinal matchups are set in all five pro divisions.

Here is the order of play:

In this article, I’ll go into varying levels of detail about each matchup in anticipation of what should be a memorable Semifinal Saturday.

Women’s Singles

No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters v. No. 7 Catherine Parenteau

Both players come into the semis without having dropped a game, though Parenteau did benefit from Parris Todd withdrawing ahead of their quarterfinal matchup. This will be the third meeting of the year between the former women’s doubles partners, with Waters winning their most recent clash in the finals of the Orange County Cup by an 11-6, 11-1 score line. Parenteau hasn’t taken a game off Waters in nine meetings since their three-game epic at Nationals in 2023, but she has had a singles resurgence over the past few months. She’ll look to find something special in the first match of the day.

No. 2 Kate Fahey v. No. 6 Lea Jansen

Fahey and Jansen have given fans some of the best women’s singles matches in recent memory, with Fahey’s 11-4, 8-11, 14-12 victory at Worlds in 2024 standing out above the rest. Both players are fresh off impressive quarterfinal wins, with Fahey beating No. 5 seed Brooke Buckner in straight games and Jansen doing the same against No. 3 seed Kaitlyn Christian. Jansen will look to earn her first career singles win against Fahey in what should be one of best matches of the day.

Men’s Singles

No. 1 Hunter Johnson v. No. 6 Christian Alshon

This will be the third meeting of the year between these two, with Johnson prevailing in Tucson and Alshon winning in Bristol. Johnson is two wins away from securing his first title since overtaking Federico Staksrud for the top spot in the PPA men’s singles rankings and is coming off his cleanest singles match of the week on Friday, an 11-0, 11-3 rout of No. 28 seed Marshall Brown. He will also be out for revenge after Alshon/Andrei Daescu ended he and Tyson McGuffin’s run in the men’s doubles quarterfinals. For Alshon, he’s coming off an 11-4, 4-11, 11-6 victory over No. 4 seed Jaume Martinez Vich and is looking to get back to a singles final for the first time since winning back-to-back golds in Cape Coral and Texas earlier this year. Both Johnson and Alshon are particularly emotional players, so timeout management could prove to be crucial in this one.  

No. 57 Chris Haworth v. No. 3 Connor Garnett

Don’t be fooled by that 57 next to Haworth. He is a top-tier singles player but hasn’t had the chance to move up the rankings since he just signed a contract with the PPA Tour in August. Saturday will mark the third overall meeting between Haworth and Garnett, but the first in over a year. Garnett won their most recent meeting at the 2024 Kansas City Open by an 11-8, 9-11, 11-7 score line. As the much lower seed, Haworth enters this matchup as the more battle tested of the two competitors; he had a tough victory over No. 9 seed Jack Sock on Thursday and outlasted No. 2 seed Federico Staksrud in a three-game thriller in the quarterfinals. Garnett, on the other hand, has yet to drop a game and has by far the best point differential of any men’s singles semifinalist. Look for incredible backhands from both members of 'Twoey Nation' in this one.

Mixed Doubles

No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters/Ben Johns v. No. 7 Jessie Irvine/Gabe Tardio

These two teams faced off just a few weeks ago in the Las Vegas quarterfinals, where Waters/Johns won 11-4, 11-5. That has been the story of all five meetings between these two partnerships, with Irvine/Tardio searching for their first game win. Another dynamic here, of course, is that Johns and Tardio are partners on the men’s doubles court, so this one has to mean at least a little more to both. Irvine/Tardio do have a title together from the 2024 Utah Open, but Waters/Johns were not in the draw.

No. 2 Jorja Johnson/JW Johnson v. No. 4 Anna Bright/Andrei Daescu

This will be the second meeting between these two teams, with the Johnsons taking their semifinal clash in Bristol by an 11-2, 11-9 score line. The Johnsons have seen three of their four matches this week go three games, while Bright/Daescu have yet to drop a game and looked particularly strong in their quarterfinal victory over Tyra Black/Hayden Patriquin on Friday. Pay extra attention to the up-the-line exchanges between Jorja and Andrei in this one, as Jorja has repeatedly shown that she has no issue getting into hands battles with her male opponents in mixed doubles. She will again have to be sharp against Daescu with a spot in the final on the line.

Women’s Doubles

No. 1 Anna Leigh Waters/Anna Bright v. No. 6 Jackie Kawamoto/Jade Kawamoto

This will be the first meeting between these two specific partnerships, but all four players on the court are very familiar with each other. Waters/Bright have been on a war path this week, as they look to rebound after suffering their first defeat as a partnership last time out in Las Vegas. To that point, they have outscored their opponents 66-8 through three matches. The always-underrated Kawamoto sisters don’t always play tournaments together, but they always seem to make deep runs when they do and are coming off an impressive quarterfinal win over No. 3 seeds Rachel Rohrabacher/Lea Jansen.

No. 2 Catherine Parenteau/Parris Todd v. No. 4 Jorja Johnson/Tyra Black

This will be a rematch of the Las Vegas final from just a few weeks ago, which Johnson/Black won in four games. Parenteau/Todd will be out for revenge, though it’s worth noting that Todd withdrew from her women’s singles quarterfinal match with an illness on Friday, so that could potentially play a role on Saturday. The last two games of the Las Vegas final were much closer than the first two, so we’ll see if Parenteau/Todd can get off to a better start in Cincinnati.

Men’s Doubles

No. 1 Ben Johns/Gabe Tardio v. No. 4 JW Johnson/CJ Klinger

These two teams have split their two meetings, with Klinger/Johnson winning the most recent bout in the Atlanta Open final. The lefty Klinger was the X-factor in that three-game sweep, so he will look to shine again on Saturday. Johns/Tardio should come into this matchup with loads of confidence, though, as they have won three tournaments in a row since suffering that aforementioned loss. Revenge will no doubt be on their minds.

No. 2 Federico Staksrud/Hayden Patriquin v. No. 3 Christian Alshon/Andrei Daescu

Alshon/Daescu have won all three matches between these two teams so far this season, including a 12-10, 11-4 victory a few weeks ago in Las Vegas. It’s worth noting, however, that Staksrud/Patriquin were up 10-3 in Game 1 of that contest, so the margins were not as big as the scoreline may indicate. We also saw Staksrud/Patriquin flex their versatility earlier this week against Ryan Fu/Max Freeman, where they switched from their usual formation to put Patriquin on the left and Staksrud on the right. That’s a strategy the No. 2 seeds could employ again if the going gets tough on Saturday. For Alshon/Daescu, they will look to make their second straight final as they pursue their fourth title of the year together.

Semifinal action from Lindner Family Tennis Center begins Saturday at 10am ET on Pickleballtv.