Swiatek defeats Svitolina to reach first WTA final of 2026

Iga Swiatek advanced to her first WTA Tour final of 2026 on Wednesday night, defeating Elina Svitolina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the National Bank Open in Toronto. The victory sets up a title match on Thursday against second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, who defeated fourth-seeded Coco Gauff in the other semifinal.

The match, delayed more than an hour by rain, saw Swiatek, the seventh seed, dominate early. She broke Svitolina's serve at love to take a 4-0 lead in the opening set, which she secured in 47 minutes. Svitolina, the ninth seed, fought back emphatically in the second set, using aggressive baseline play and improved consistency to win five straight games and level the match.

The momentum shifted again in the deciding third set. With Swiatek leading 4-3, she broke Svitolina at love after the Ukrainian double-faulted on break point. Swiatek then held serve to close out the victory in two hours and 17 minutes.

"I just needed to find the right rhythm," Swiatek said. "I'm happy that I was patient enough to do that and that I didn't get disappointed or didn't give up and just found a way to play better in the third."

The win was a reversal of recent form for...