Iga Swiatek knew what she needed to do against Elina Svitolina at the National Bank Open on Wednesday night to reach her first final on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz in nearly a year.
Facing a third set against the Ukrainian for a third time in three 2026 meetings, Swiatek found "the right rhythm" to complete her first win against Svtiolina in those three matches, as well as advance to her 14th career WTA 1000 final, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.
The six-time Grand Slam singles champion admitted to losing her grip on the level that nabbed her an early lead in the rain-delayed semifinal match, which started nearly an hour later than expected.
But after letting Svitolina "play her game" in the second set and early in the third, Swiatek was happy with how she settled down to come from a break down in the decider and complete the victory in 2 hours and 17 minutes.
Increasing pace and depth helped, she said. Swiatek nearly matched her total of winners in the first two sets combined (14) with her third-set total (13).
After failing to win a three-set match against a Top 20 player all season prior to arriving at Sobeys Stadium, Swiatek has won two to reach the final in Canada for the first time – having also done so against Marta Kostyuk in the fourth round.
Her efforts so far, she says, has reaffirmed in an up-and-down season that she is still up for the fight in challenging moments.
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