TORONTO — Iga Świątek defeated world No. 2 Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 in the final of the Canadian Open on Thursday, earning her first WTA Tour-level tournament victory of the year.
Świątek, a six-time Grand Slam winner, dispatched Rybakina in 75 minutes in winning a tour-level tournament for the first time since the Korea Open in September 2025.
Thursday’s match was the 13th career meeting between these two, with the head-to-head 6-6. Rybakina won the last two meetings against Świątek, including at this year’s Australian Open 7-5, 6-1, en route to winning her second Slam title.
Świątek, though, played like the hunter, showcasing her efficient serve, elite court coverage and spinny baseline shots.
In the first game, Świątek dictated the rallies, moving Rybakina around the baseline. Rybakina double-faulted, handing Świątek an early break advantage. From there, the first set featured Świątek dropping just four points on her first serve (15 of 19). Her serve was a mix of power up the middle, getting up to 170 kph, or filled with spin out wide, causing Rybakina to often commit unforced errors off the return. Świątek also glided on the baseline, displaying her relentless defense with a sprawling backhand up the line in the fourth game.
The critical moment came with Świątek serving 3-2. She faced two break points after a forehand wide and a double fault. All Świątek did to save the two break points was get the serve in before unleashing deep forehands that forced Rybakina to hit the returns long. Three consecutive errors by Rybakina gave Świątek a game point. She capitalized with an overwhelming serve up the T, yelling “Let’s go!” as she went up 4-2. Świątek didn’t lose another game in the set, closing out the opener in 29 minutes with a deceptive up-the-T set-point serve that Rybakina couldn’t return.
Rybakina had won four of her five matches at this event in three sets and had spent 11 hours, 25 minutes on court. Exiting the court to regroup didn’t help the second seed. Świątek kept up the pressure, redirecting her groundstrokes and putting Rybakina on the run.
With Rybakina serving 2-2, 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. Rybakina was relentless in the final two sets in her semifinal when she wore down world No. 4 Coco Gauff with her power. In the final, the precision turned into unforced errors.
Świątek closed out the set for her 12th WTA 1000 title. She will move up to No. 5 in the WTA rankings. After 326 days, Świątek is again a winner on the WTA Tour, with her sights set on a second U.S. Open at the end of August.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Tennis, Women's Tennis
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