Iga Świątek rolls over Elena Rybakina in Canadian Open final

TORONTO — Iga Świątek heard the comments all year on the WTA Tour. Actually, longer than that.

On Thursday night inside Sobeys Stadium, the six-time Grand Slam champion finally silenced them with a straight-sets domination of world No. 2 Elena Rybakina to claim her first WTA title in 11 months.

Unleashing a fury built up from months of criticism back home in Poland, a motivated Świątek took command of the Canadian Open final early on and never let go en route to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Rybakina punctuated by a backhand winner on match point.

Banging her chest and pointing to her head, Świątek pumped her fist with forceful pride. She had something to prove during her 12 days in Toronto — to show the tennis world she can still reach the level that got her to world No. 1 in 2022 and 2023.

“It feels great,” Świątek said in her postmatch interview on the Sportsnet broadcast. “Especially, honestly, with all the people judging and hating. Honestly, international fans, but more at home. Not the fans even, but the experts. Honestly, I’m happy that year by year I give less s— about it, and I could win this tournament to prove to everyone that they don’t make sense sometimes.”

The head-to-head between Świątek and Rybakina was 6-6 heading into Thursday’s match, with Rybakina winning the last two meetings. That included a 7-5, 6-1 victory during Rybakina’s run to a second Slam title at this year’s Australian Open.

Świątek, though, played like the hunter Thursday, showcasing her efficient serve, elite court coverage and spinny baseline shots.

She dictated the rallies in the first game, and Rybakina double-faulted to hand Świątek an early break advantage. Świątek dropped just 4 points on her first serve (15 of 19) the rest of the set. Using power up the middle (she got up to 170 kph) and spin out wide, Świątek put Rybakina off balance with her serve. She also glided on the baseline, displaying her relentless defense with a sprawling backhand up the line in the fourth game.

Serving 3-2, but down 2 break points, Świątek took control by unleashing deep forehands that forced Rybakina to hit her returns long. Three consecutive Rybakina errors gave Świątek a game point. She capitalized with an overwhelming serve up the T, yelling “Let’s go!” as she went up 4-2, and didn’t lose another game in the set.

Rybakina won four of her first five matches at the Canadian Open in three sets and spent 11 hours, 25 minutes on court. She wore down world No. 4 Coco Gauff with her power in the semifinals, but the three-set win ended just after 1 a.m. ET Thursday. She was back on court less than 24 hours later, and the toll of those long matches was visible during her last practice one hour before the match, when she bent over and grabbed her left leg.

After the match, Rybakina said she felt “destroyed.”

“I was just very tired. You could see that I wasn’t pushing with the legs enough. There was a lot of unforced errors, especially on top of the net. It was just pure lack of concentration.”

It didn’t help that Świątek kept up the pressure the entire match, redirecting her groundstrokes and putting Rybakina on the run.

With Rybakina serving 2-2 in the second set, Świątek secured her third break of the match when her return clipped the net and landed low in the court. Rybakina dumped her backhand in the net, extending Świątek’s lead.

Świątek served to close out the match for her 12th WTA 1000 title, crediting her poise through a draw that saw her beat four top-20 players.

“I’m happy that I kept my composure, kept my focus, and I keep growing every month no matter what the challenges are,” Świątek said.

Świątek’s season had been below expectations before Toronto. She won only 23 matches between winning Wimbledon in 2025 and the start of the Canadian Open, with her best result being a semifinal appearance at the Italian Open. At the Slams, Świątek’s best result was a quarterfinal at the Australian Open, where she fell to Rybakina. She lost to Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round of Roland Garros before losing to 21-year-old Alex Eala in the third round of Wimbledon in her title defense.

In April, Świątek added Francisco Roig, who spent two decades with Rafael Nadal’s coaching team, as a coach. She said she had been playing “too flat and too fast,” leading to risky decisions. But in the four months since adding Roig, she has shown more poise on the court.

“I feel like it’s already got more into my habit and it became more natural,” Świątek said. “That’s definitely how I want to play, to have this patience.”

Świątek had a calm practice three hours before the final. She went through her arsenal of shots with her coaches as her sports psychologist, Daria Abramowicz, watched and retrieved balls. After Świątek hit one last serve, she gave her team a thumbs-up and left the court.

Three hours later, she raised the championship trophy as Polish fans chanted her name inside Sobeys Stadium. When the WTA rankings come out Monday, she will be No. 5. Her sights are now set on a second U.S. Open at the end of August, brimming with confidence from this win.

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