Iga Swiatek claimed her first title of the season Thursday, defeating Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 in the Canadian Open final to head into the U.S. Open with a timely boost in confidence.
It was Swiatek’s first final at the U.S. Open tuneup event, and the six-time Grand Slam champion fed off the Toronto crowd, which repeatedly chanted “Iga! Iga!” as she powered her way to victory, with several Polish flags visible in the stands.
But Swiatek told Canadian network Sportsnet that she was still angry after the win, having faced criticism from media in Poland during an inconsistent season in which she has failed to reach a Grand Slam semifinal and parted ways with her coach.
“I think that’s the first time in my life I have something like that after a victory, but it hasn’t been easy, you know,” Swiatek said. “I’m happy that I kept my composure, kept my focus, and I keep growing every month no matter what the challenges, and I’m super proud I could win this one.”
The Pole was sharp and fast on the hard court in Toronto, while Kazakhstan’s Rybakina was her own worst enemy for much of the evening.
Rybakina, the world No. 2, was broken twice in an opening set that also saw Swiatek save two break points to take command of the match. The first set was marred by 12 unforced errors from 27-year-old Rybakina, who struggled to strike the ball cleanly.
The Australian Open champion could not weaponize her serve either, recording just one ace in the match, and Swiatek broke her again in the second set to take a 3-2 lead.
Swiatek, 25, dropped the next game but closed out the final three with confidence, hitting a clean winner on match point to end her title drought.
“If she plays her best game, she’s probably better than everyone,” Swiatek told reporters of Rybakina after the match. “You need to use all the opportunities. You can’t let yourself make mistakes or bad decisions.”
Fatigue had finally caught up with Rybakina, who played three hours more than Swiatek at the tournament before their meeting Thursday, with her previous three matches going to three sets.
“I was just very tired. You could see that I wasn’t pushing with the legs enough,” Rybakina told reporters after the match. “There were a lot of unforced errors, especially on top of the net. It was just a pure lack of concentration.”
With the Canadian title, world No. 8 Swiatek will return to the top five in the rankings.
