Jamaine Punzalan

Article (news)

Agence France-Presse

<p>Iga Swiatek outlasted Ukraine&#x27;s Elina Svitolina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 on Wednesday to book a Toronto title showdown with world number two Elena Rybakina.</p><p>Australian Open champion Rybakina delivered another gutsy comeback, beating fourth-seeded Coco Gauff 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to reach Thursday&#x27;s final in the hard court warm-up for the US Open.</p><p>Former world number one Swiatek, seeded seventh, is in her first final of the year, having last lifted a trophy in Seoul almost a year ago.</p><p>She improved to 5-3 against Svitolina, who had narrowed their head-to-head record with two wins over the Polish star this year.</p><p>In a match delayed more than an hour by rain, six-time major champion Swiatek raced to a 4-0 lead in the opening set.</p><p>The Ukrainian made Swiatek work to serve it out, saving a pair of set points in the final game of the first.</p><p>Energized, she raced through the second set before Swiatek rebounded in the third, breaking Svitolina to love for a 5-3 lead before holding serve to secure the win.</p><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-0" src="https://www.instagram.com/p/Db9yI6zC0TU/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=878&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A0%2C%22os%22%3A5314280%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="784" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-0" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>&quot;Against Elina it&#x27;s always tough, so I&#x27;m happy that I won this one,&quot; said Swiatek.</p><p>&quot;Especially that I came back in the third set playing better. So, yeah, that&#x27;s for sure a big improvement. I&#x27;m proud of myself.&quot;</p><p>Svitolina, who won the Canadian crown in 2017, was seeking her third 1000 level final of the season after winning at Rome and finishing runner-up in Dubai.</p><p>But she couldn&#x27;t hang on as Swiatek upped her game again in the final set.</p><p>&quot;Mostly I just wanted to adjust the quality,&quot; Swiatek said. &quot;Because tactics can&#x27;t do much if you&#x27;re just not hitting the ball right. I knew I can do it, because I did it in the first set. I&#x27;m happy that I was patient enough to do that and didn&#x27;t get disappointed or didn&#x27;t give up.&quot;</p><p>Rybakina, who also rallied from a set down to beat Naomi Osaka in the quarter-finals, is on the cusp of her third title of the season after her triumph in Melbourne and a trophy in Stuttgart.</p><p>Her Canadian run has her inching closer to No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the rankings as the August 31 start of the US Open approaches.</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/8/10/tennis-alex-eala-eyes-brief-rest-after-canadian-open-exit-1601">Tennis: Alex Eala eyes brief rest after Canadian Open exit</a></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>TAKING OPPORTUNITIES</strong></div><div><br/></div><iframe class="instagram-media" id="instagram-embed-2" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db9-n1dNg9o/embed/captioned/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=878&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A2%2C%22os%22%3A5370189%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="0" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-2" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px;min-width:326px;padding:0px;position:absolute"></iframe><blockquote class=" instagram-media-registered" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db9-n1dNg9o/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" id="instagram-media-payload-2" style="background:#FFF;border:0;border-radius:3px;box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15);margin:1px;max-width:540px;min-width:326px;padding:0;width:calc(100% - 2px)"><div style="padding:16px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db9-n1dNg9o/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="background:#FFFFFF;line-height:0;padding:0 0;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;width:100%" target="_blank"><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:40px;margin-right:14px;width:40px"><br/></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:100px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:60px"><br/></div></div></div><div style="padding:19% 0"><br/></div><div style="display:block;height:50px;margin:0 auto 12px;width:50px"><br/></div><div style="padding-top:8px"><div style="color:#3897f0;line-height:18px">View this post on Instagram</div></div><div style="padding:12.5% 0"><br/></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:row;margin-bottom:14px;align-items:center"><div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(0px) translateY(7px)"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;height:12.5px;transform:rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px);width:12.5px;flex-grow:0;margin-right:14px;margin-left:2px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;height:12.5px;width:12.5px;transform:translateX(9px) translateY(-18px)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:8px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:50%;flex-grow:0;height:20px;width:20px"><br/></div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:2px solid transparent;border-left:6px solid #f4f4f4;border-bottom:2px solid transparent;transform:translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"><br/></div></div><div style="margin-left:auto"><div style="width:0px;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-right:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(16px)"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;flex-grow:0;height:12px;width:16px;transform:translateY(-4px)"><br/></div><div style="width:0;height:0;border-top:8px solid #F4F4F4;border-left:8px solid transparent;transform:translateY(-4px) translateX(8px)"><br/></div></div></div><div style="display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-grow:1;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:24px"><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;margin-bottom:6px;width:224px"><br/></div><div style="background-color:#F4F4F4;border-radius:4px;flex-grow:0;height:14px;width:144px"><br/></div></div></a><div style="color:#c9c8cd;line-height:17px;margin-bottom:0;margin-top:8px;overflow:hidden;padding:8px 0 7px;text-align:center;text-overflow:ellipsis;white-space:nowrap"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/Db9-n1dNg9o/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style="color:#c9c8cd;line-height:17px;text-decoration:none" target="_blank">A post shared by National Bank Open (@nbotoronto)</a></div></div></blockquote><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><p>Kazakhstan&#x27;s Rybakina polished off the victory over Gauff shortly before 1 a.m. local time, taking advantage as the American began to falter in the face of pressure on her serve.</p><p>&quot;She served really well in the first set,&quot; Rybakina said. &quot;It was pretty close the first one, and then I feel like on my serve I rushed a little bit in the end.</p><p>&quot;I knew that I need to start straight away the second set well. I&#x27;m happy that I did a couple of good returns, and then things turned around.&quot;</p><p>While Rybakina had to battle past Osaka to reach the semis, Gauff had advanced via a walkover. But Rybakina said the hard work may have helped her.</p><p>&quot;I guess the adrenaline and so many hours on the court helped a bit,&quot; she said. &quot;In the third set also, few moments I felt like I was just swinging, and some crazy return at 30-all, and it went my way.</p><p>&quot;So, I got my opportunities, I took them.&quot;</p><div><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/showbiz/celebrities/2026/8/10/alex-eala-on-facing-belinda-bencic-tough-one-today-1334">Alex Eala on facing Belinda Bencic: ‘Tough one today’</a><br/><a href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/sports/othersports/2026/8/6/alex-eala-mania-sweeps-canadian-open-in-toronto-1121">Alex Eala mania sweeps Canadian Open in Toronto</a></div><div><br/><br/></div>

<p>Iga Swiatek outlasted Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 on Wednesday to book a Toronto title showdown with world number two Elena Rybakina.</p>

Iga Swiatek outlasted Ukraine's Elina Svitolina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 on Wednesday to book a Toronto title showdown with world number two Elena Rybakina.

Swiatek sinks Svitolina to set up Rybakina title clash in Toronto

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Swiatek sinks Svitolina to set up Rybakina title clash in Toronto

Agence France-Presse

Published August 13, 2026 02:19 PM PHT

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