Iga Swiatek is back in the winner's circle. The Polish star defeated Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 in the Canadian Open final on Thursday, securing her first WTA title of the 2026 season and signaling that her best tennis may be returning at exactly the right time.
Swiatek, 25, was in dominant form throughout the 75-minute contest in Toronto. In the opening set, Rybakina struggled with her consistency, racking up 12 unforced errors while Swiatek broke serve twice and successfully defended two break points of her own. The second set followed a similar pattern: Rybakina briefly led 2-1, but Swiatek then reeled off five of the final six games to close out the match as champion, claiming her 26th career title.
Rybakina, the reigning Australian Open champion, finished with 23 unforced errors and just 13 winners across the whole match. Her serve, usually a lethal weapon, produced four double faults and only one ace on the day.
For Swiatek, the victory carries real emotional weight. "It means so, so much to me because the past months were not easy," she admitted after the trophy ceremony. Indeed, 2026 has been a challenging stretch for the six-time Grand Slam winner. She fell in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to Rybakina, and exited both the French Open and Wimbledon earlier than expected. In April, she added Francisco Roig, who previously coached Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu, to her support team, and the results are beginning to show.
The Canadian Open title will lift Swiatek back into the top five in the rankings, arriving at perfect timing ahead of the US Open. TennisDraw users had heavily backed Rybakina heading into the final, making Swiatek's convincing performance an even sweeter result for her supporters.
