Swiatek sees the light at the end of the tunnel: "I just needed to find the right rhythm"
Almost eleven months later, Iga Swiatek will contest a final on the WTA tour again after overcoming Elina Svitolina in a tough semifinal in Toronto. The Polish player knows that a title here changes everything.
Although we should not be unfair to Iga Swiatek: the mere fact of being in a final is already a success considering what she had been going through. It has been since Seoul, in September of last year, that we saw the Polish player fighting in the decisive match. Hence the importance of this journey in the WTA Toronto 2026.
Last night, it was time to show her claws and fight against a Elina Svitolina who rarely makes it easy for you. An opponent who seemed to have figured her out, having beaten her in the last two encounters they had in 2026. But this time was different; on this occasion, the balance would tip in favor of Iga Swiatek, returning a piece of confidence that had prevented her from stepping up in other events. Awaiting to know who her final opponent will be in this Canadian adventure, Iga's words confirmed that she is leaving here with something in her hands.
Iga Swiatek reacts after returning to a final 11 months later
“It has been a complicated match. Against Elina, it is always difficult, so I am happy to have won this one, especially because I was able to come back in the third set playing better. That is definitely a big improvement for me; I am proud of myself."
The key was in the quality
“Mainly, I wanted to adjust the quality, to have better shot quality, because tactics cannot do much if you are just not hitting the ball well. I knew I could do it because I had done it in the first set; I had it in me, I just needed to find the right rhythm. I am happy to have been patient enough to achieve it and not to have been disappointed or given up, but to have found a way to play better in the third set.”
The second set that slipped away
“I think I let her play a bit her way because sometimes I play too short. The balls did not have enough weight from my side, so I simply needed to put even more energy into it if I wanted to play better in the third. In the second, sometimes the balls were short and the approach shots were not enough; it was simply a matter of quality and I knew I could improve it.”
A different preparation
“It is always better to be in the place where you are going to play a tournament. Obviously, I play tournaments where I have already been, and perhaps I have two weeks, and I have played after a training session. This time, I just had a lot of time and I did not have much to do with it, which is why I ended up arriving here quite early. Honestly, I don't think it would have mattered if I had arrived two days later, although it was comfortable. From the beginning, we felt that we still had a lot of time until the tournament, so the training sessions were not focused on the tournament but on developing my game. Later on, obviously, we shifted towards preparing for the opponents.”
Gauff or Rybakina in the final
“They play very differently. Coco puts more spin on the ball, while Elena tends to hit flat. Both are tall, so they have good serves, but they have different styles. Obviously, we know each other quite well, but our game is constantly developing, so it’s good to look at the last matches and we will see who wins.”
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Swiatek ve la luz al final del túnel: “Solo necesitaba encontrar el ritmo adecuado”