Iga Swiatek, the champion in Toronto!

 

Entering Thursday, the last time Iga Swiatek defeated Elena Rybakina was last summer in Cincinnati, where she went on to win her most recent WTA 1000 title.

Until now.

Swiatek capped a stellar run in Toronto with a dominant 6-2, 6-3 win over World No. 2 Elena Rybakina in 75 minutes to claim her first title of the season -- and the 26th of her career -- at the National Bank Open. It also marks her 12 WTA 1000 crown, moving her past Aryna Sabalenka (11) for the second-most since the format debuted in 2009. She now trails only Serena Williams (13).

The victory also pushes Swiatek ahead 7-6 in their head-to-head on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz, snapping a two-match skid against Rybakina.

"You're such a great competitor, and it's always tough to play against you," Swiatek said during the trophy presentation. "We've played many important matches against each other, and I'm sure there are going to be many, many more."

This was the second time the two have met in a final, with both matches going Swiatek's way in straight sets. She is now 26-5 in WTA finals, the best win rate of any player with 20 or more WTA-level finals since the Tier format's introduction in 1990.

The 2026 season had been a lackluster one by Swiatek's high standards entering Toronto. She had yet to reach a final, had slipped to No. 8 in the world and was on the fringes of the WTA Finals picture. Above all else, her confidence appeared shaken.

But those afflictions seemed to evaporate the moment she stepped foot on Canadian soil.

The six-time Grand Slam champion opened her campaign with a bagel and dropped just six games across her first two matches. After a comeback win over Marta Kostyuk in the Round of 16, Swiatek returned to dominance in a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Diana Shnaider in the quarterfinals. In the semis, Swiatek avenged a pair of three-set losses to Elina Svitolina earlier this season with a three-set victory of her own to reach the championship match.

By completing the title run with a win over Rybakina, her longtime rival, it appears some of those inner -- and outer -- demons have been conquered.

"I want to dedicate this title to everyone who is dealing with unfair judgement and hate," Swiatek said. "Just keep pushing, keep growing, keep focusing on yourself because you know what's best for you. And always remember what's ahead and what might be possible."

With her triumph in Toronto, Swiatek has now captured all five significant North American titles: Indian Wells (2022, 2024), Miami (2022), US Open (2022), Cincinnati (2025) and Canada (2026).

She is also three-fourths of the way to a Career Slam, missing only an Australian Open title, and has won eight of the 10 WTA 1000s on offer -- with Dubai and Wuhan the only two she has yet to claim.

In total, Swiatek holds 19 Big Titles, including: Roland Garros (x4), US Open, Wimbledon, WTA Finals, Rome (x3), Doha (x2), Indian Wells (x2), Beijing, Canada, Cincinnati, Madrid and Miami.

She is 6-0 in Grand Slam finals, 1-0 in WTA Finals championship matches and 12-2 in WTA 1000 finals. Across those 21 matches, she has lost five games or fewer 14 times.

But your guess is as good as hers as to why she appears so unflappable with a trophy on the line.

"I don't really know because I try to approach these matches the same as the ones before. I know what I did right, and I'm just trying to continue that," Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. "I guess if I'm in the final it means that my game is good, and that gives me confidence, for sure.

"You know you need to go all in if you want to win the tournament because you're going to face the best player in the final. So just trying to focus on that."

Rybakina double-faulted twice in the opening game to hand Swiatek an early break and was unable to find her footing as the match progressed, clearly missing a step after a run to the final that included four three-setters in five matches -- the last two against Naomi Osaka and Coco Gauff, both of which required her to rally after dropping the first set.

After Swiatek took the first set in just under half an hour, Rybakina offered a brief resistance to begin the second, but Swiatek broke for 3-2 and that was all she wrote. After a forehand winner sealed a hold for 5-3, the former World No. 1 broke for the fourth and final time -- finishing with a backhand winner -- to take the title in Toronto.

As a result, Swiatek is projected to rise three spots to No. 5 in the PIF WTA Rankings and, more importantly, jump two places to No. 10 in the Race to the WTA Finals as the home stretch begins. Rybakina, meanwhile, tightened her grip on the No. 2 ranking and continued to close the gap between herself and Sabalenka in the battle to be World No. 1.

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After an 11 month title drought Iga Swiatek is back in the winners circle once more.

And what a win it tuned out to be!.

 Iga took charge from the get go after Rybakina had a slow start on serve and just runaway with the first set. 

Came up with absolutely brilliant shots when in trouble. Shots full of conviction that feels like we haven't seen in months.

Looked truly fearless the entire match, it's like she said to herself this title is mine and I don't care who's on the other side of the net, I'm not letting anyone take it from me. 

Iga Swiatek in finals has always been a different beast, and today she reminded everyone why. 

She finally remembered how pivotal her heavy topspin, patience and footwork were to her identity and success as a player. 

It was never about the serve, when Iga let's her athleticism shine, everything else flows and there are very few who can stop her. 

I must think that Iga's coach is in someway responsible for this awakening  and for that I sincerely thank him.

Because boy did tennis need it. 

I absolutely loved her victory speech, spoke from the heart about how tough things have been mainly because of criticism on the internet and media abroad but especially in our home county of Poland.

She sternly reminded all of them that in the end it is her who decides what is best despite all of their "expert" opinions. 

And it became a lovely message of encouragement to players and people alike to shut out the negativity and noise and just stay true to yourself.

Bravo.

The Champion of Toronto in my adopted country, won by a woman from the country of my birth. It doesn't get sweeter than that. 

Congratulations Iga, you have earned this enjoy it to the fullest!.

Hope you get at least a little breather.

See you in Cincy. 

Although I honestly can't bring myself to care about that title defense right now.

Whether it happens or not kind of doesn't matter, because Iga has just proven she's back where she belongs. 

Whatever happens next feels like icing on the cake.

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek makes first final in Toronto, and the first final of the season

 

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.

"Against Elina, it's always tough, so I'm happy that I won this one," Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. "Especially that I came back in the third set playing better. So that's for sure a big improvement.

"Mostly I just wanted to adjust the quality. Because tactics can't do much if you're just not hitting the ball right. I knew I can do it, because I did it in the first set. I had it in me ... I'm happy that I was patient enough to do that and didn't get disappointed or didn't give up, and just found a way to play better in the third."

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).

"If I want to win a semifinal where you know your opponent is playing good, I need to step up, and there's no looking back," she said. "You kind of start from the beginning when we start the third set. It doesn't matter what happened in the second, I know what to do in the third, and I just needed to follow that."

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.

"It hasn't been an easy season, probably the toughest one in my life on-court," Swiatek said. "This week has been really positive and inspirational for me. It always kind of shows that you need to keep going no matter what."

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Well I guess my good feeling was correct. 

What a match!. 

Iga started great out of the gate and just did not let Svitolina breathe. For a while there it looked like she might even get a bagel. 

She did what she's been doing so great all week long stayed patient and rallied with Svitolina (with some absolutely breathtaking display of athleticism). She stayed in the rallies and didn't bail out and try to end them early by overhitting from the baseline.

Svitolina being Svitolina raised her level and fought back in the 2nd and went up a break, in the 3rd. 

Despite that Iga kept fighting, she didn't get frustrated to the point of losing her compose and and focus. She found a way back from the brink. 

I'll be honest even I thought the match was over at that point. But Iga found that 6 time Grand Slam champion mentality, she recovered and won the match proving me wrong once again.

She won against Svitolina in slow night time conditions something that's not easy to do against a great counterpuncher like her.

Iga snatched this match from Svitolina with true grit, quality and resilience, something that has felt missing in her game for months now.

Feels apt that Iga found her level in a place where 18 year old Iga found belief that she could be a top ten player and belong in the sport.(2019 Toronto semi vs Wozniacki).

This match felt like such a huge mental turning point, I'd say even more so than against Kostyuk.  There she had an awful first set and came back from a set down. 

Here Iga won after getting a 1 set advantage, having a big dip in the 2nd and recovering a break in the 3rd. 

For someone like Iga who's a great front runner, that's often proved so much harder to do especially of late. 

The Iga of 2 months ago probably would have lost. 

A massive change. 

The kind of change that might give her back that locker room aura again, and make all her opponents start fearing her before they step out on court.

So a final with Rybakina awaits. 

Pretty much as hard as it gets with one of the best servers on tour. 

But Rybakina's route to the final has not been without struggles. 

She's had a lot of 3 setters (with a lot of unforced errors), and an awful lot of time on court. That coupled with the 1am finish last night might be something Iga can use to her advantage. 

Along with keeping Rybakina on the move and staying close with her on serve.

Really lovely vocal crowd support for Iga last night (minus the one guy who wouldn't shut up between serves because there's always one). 

Must have felt so good for Iga after all the struggles she's been though and the criticism she's faced the past 11 months. 

This win the affirmation that the work she's been doing with her new coach and team is working. 

Talk about going a long way towards self belief too.  

Brawo Iga. 

Go for it tonight. 

Jazda!.

14 - Iga Swiatek has reached a 14th WTA-1000 final from 47 main draws entered – since the format’s introduction in 2009, Swiatek (29.8%, 14/47) trails only Serena Williams (38.3%) and Maria Sharapova (32.0%) for rate of finals reached. Perspective.

3 - Iga Swiatek has claimed three WTA top 20 wins at a single event for the first time since claiming tournament victory at Roland Garros in 2024 (Marketa Vondrousova, Coco Gauff, Jasmine Paolini). Scalps.

31st career final, going for 12th WTA 1000 title

Has now made at least Finals at 9/10 WTA 1000 events (just missing Wuhan & only played it once).

Iga is just one Australian Open and one Wuhan away from making the finals or better at the 15 biggest tournaments in the world. Still only 25 years old.

Iga Swiatek plays her best match to reach semis in Toronto

 

Iga Swiatek hasn’t had the season she’s accustomed to, but there have been signs lately that she’s finding her best tennis again. Monday night in Toronto offered another one.

The No. 7 seed overwhelmed No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider -- who was coming off a win over Jessica Pegula-- in their Toronto quarterfinal, dropping just three games in a 6-2, 6-1 rout that lasted 64 minutes.

"I've been feeling good on the court. I know how much I practiced and what we did [during] the practices," Swiatek said in her on-court interview. "This is giving me confidence. It's just a matter of being in a good place that day and using it. So I'm trying to do my best every day, keep my routines, be really focused, and for sure, I'm really happy to be in a semifinal."

With the win, Swiatek improved to 2-0 against Shnaider at the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz level and advanced to her 23rd WTA 1000 semifinal. Since the format's introduction in 2009, only Serena Williams (53.1%) has reached a higher rate of semifinals than Swiatek (48.9%). Only three players have reached more WTA 1000 semifinals than Swiatek -- Simona Halep (29), Serena Williams (26) and Victoria Azarenka (24). She's tied with Agnieszka Radwanska at 23.

Swiatek's path to this latest semifinal hasn't been without drama -- see her Round of 16 win over Marta Kostyuk-- but Monday night was stress-free. She broke in the opening game, dominated on serve and broke again for 5-2 as Shnaider unraveled under a string of forehand errors, the last of which handed Swiatek the opening set.

The second set saw more of the same. Shnaider produced flashes, but Swiatek broke for 2-1 and never looked back. She won the final six games and crossed the finish line a few minutes past the one-hour mark.

"Today I just followed the plan. I was really focused. I feel like I'm for sure better focused," Swiatek said in her post-match press conference. "I'm able to follow the plan a little bit easier because I feel the ball well on my racket. It's a nice tournament where there's not much fuss around, you can really focus on your job. I just have a good time on court."

Here are the numbers to know behind Swiatek's dominant quarterfinal victory.

0: Break points faced. Swiatek wasn't threatened on serve, never facing a break point and rarely landing in tight spots across seven service games.

8: Unforced errors. While Shnaider struggled to keep the ball in play, Swiatek was squeaky clean. Her eight unforced errors are her fewest in a match this season.

10: Out of 11. With semifinals now in both Toronto and Montreal, Swiatek has reached the last four at 10 of the 11 current WTA 1000 event locations. Wuhan is the lone exception.

67.8: Winning percentage against Top 20 players. Since 1990, only Steffi Graf (82.1%), Serena Williams (75.3%), Monica Seles (70.4%) and Martina Hingis (67.9%) have a higher career win rate against Top 20 opponents.

88.5: Percent of first-serve points won. Swiatek won 23 of 26 first-serve points, her best mark of the season.

In the semis, Swiatek will face No. 9 seed Elina Svitolina, who rallied from a set down to defeat No. 16 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 in 1 hour and 33 minutes in Monday's second quarterfinal.

She has won four of seven career meetings against Svitolina, though the Ukrainian claimed both of their matchups this season -- in Indian Wells and Rome -- in three sets.

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This was Iga's best match of the season on hardcourt and maybe even in general this year. 

She mentioned in post match that the Kostyuk match was that for her and it was in part because she finally showed belief and started playing her game again. 

But this was her best match from a level perspective. From beginning to end she served well, returned well, and moved well. 

She looked self assured on her shots and stayed in the zone concentration wise all the way though. There were no 2nd set level dips in sight. It was an emphatic 64 minute straight sets win.

I've mentioned in past blog posts how I've been waiting for Iga's game to start clicking and that in time it would. The Kostyuk match definitely feels like the catalyst of just that. 

For the first time in months I was actually able to watch an Iga match stress free because she looked comfortable on court and everything looked like it flowed. 

The majority of which has to be attributed to the calmness and patience on court. It has really allowed her to construct, control and extend rallies better, 

And of course using her movement and return skills. Something that has felt sorely lacking in her game since last year. 

The stress would make her panic so much she would completely forget about her footwork and revert to ball bashing and over hitting from the back of the baseline. Feels like in this tournament she has rediscovered certain skills again. 

It could be all the extra time she had to train with her new coach after Wimbledon, allowed her to work on those things and it's paying dividends

Or it could also be as she herself has admitted the simple fact of the pressure being off. The pressure of not being a 4 time Roland Garros Champ on clay and the Wimbledon defending champion as well. With that part of the season finally behind her. 

Whatever the case I hope it continues because it has allowed her to play more clearly and problem solve. Any tournament where Iga sticks around to the end is all the better for it.

Iga's next opponent Svitolina will test everything I just talked about, but if Iga can continue implementing things the way she has this entire week I think she just might get the win. 

The win over Shnaider  matched Iga's  best result in Canada having reached the semis of Montreal a few years back. Also making this just her second semi final of the year.

Words can't express how badly I want this win for her. Especially given Svitolina has been the one to stop Iga's momentum form-wise twice this year. In matches where to be honest Iga didn't put up much of a challenge. 

A win would also give her the first final of the year which would be a crucial confidence booster before the last Slam of the season not to mention the rest of the year and beyond.

Night conditions will probably favor Svitolina, and Iga will no doubt be made to work hard. But I don't know I have a good feeling about this one, I think she'll keep a cool head and finally prevail. 

Jazda!

Iga Swiatek battles past Kostyuk to make the quarterfinals in Toronto

A three-set win for Iga Swiatek against Marta Kostyuk on Saturday didn't just put the former World No. 1 into the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open for a second time. It also snapped one of the most notable droughts on the WTA Tour Driven by Mercedes-Benz.

Swiatek had lost her last seven three-set matches against Top 20 players dating back to last September -- and she would've had reason to despair after losing the first set against Kostyuk from twice being a break ahead. But instead, the six-time Grand Slam singles champion rebounded in a big way -- and never lost serve in the second and third sets to score a 3-6, 6-1, 6-2 victory.

In all, Swiatek saved nine break points across the second and third sets to score any kind of Top 20 win for the first time since the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in May: three at 2-0, and three more when she served for the set. The tension of the moment was later evident in a five-deuce final game, where she needed six match points -- and saved two break points -- to wrap up the win in just over 2 hours.

Afterward, Swiatek confessed she "knew [she] could play better" after a first set where the two players combined for seven service breaks -- and focused on being "more brave."

"In the second I came out ... playing a bit faster and more heavy, and pushing Marta a little bit more," she said. "I knew I can, you know, keep being solid while doing that. So then, like, game by game I felt like it was a good plan and a good choice, and I went for it."

The effort also snapped Kostyuk's winning streak in three-set matches. She had won her last seven dating back to a first-round loss to Elsa Jacquemot at the Australian Open in January, where she suffered an ankle injury.

Swiatek will next face No. 15 seed Diana Shnaider, who scored a milestone of her own by beating Jessica Pegul. 

The 6-3, 6-3 win for Shnaider against the two-time champion was her first in five attempts and reversed the result of their semifinal match at the Mubadala DC Open last week.

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Where do I even start with this one. 

Wild feels like an understatement. 

I have seen a lot of Iga matches over the past 6 years, but what I witnessed in that first set was something else. 

I mean Iga literally won 1 point on serve. 

One. 

She hang in it simply with great returns, but just could not hold serve every time she got the advantage. 

Once she lost that first set things looked really bleak. I thought, oh no here we go now Iga is just going to crumble and start overhitting and this will be Roland Garros all over again.

But I have never been happier to be so very wrong. 

Iga kept her focus, composure and most importantly patience and instead started playing more aggressive rather than passive. 

She made Marta self destruct (something that's been mostly happening to her of late). 

She did it by cutting down her unforced errors, with her forehand, some absolutely vintage returning and sliding (oh how I've missed her defensive sliding!). 

It really felt like the Iga of old (which might seem like I've said a lot lately) but this time truly felt like it. 

Especially because she did it when things weren't going her way and she was a set down in a pretty horrendous way.

Iga of earlier this year would have just given up.

But here she really problem solved and kept fighting just refused to give up even after losing 3 match points and having to finish it on her 6th. 

That refusal to lose felt like Grand Slam champion mentality again.

I think I'm most proud of the way she didn't take her foot of the pedal when she got the momentum and just forced Marta to feel all the pressure by simply extending rallies and playing solid. 

I realize I'm overexcited because I just missed her tennis so much and that anything could happen still, but this felt like such an enormous stepping stone. 

It was just her 3rd three set comeback this year, and you could see by the emotional roar at the end of the match just how much it meant to her. 

Things will get very interesting now as the expected seeded opponent Pegula lost to Schneider for the first time and the world #1 Aryna Sabalenka was upset as well. 

There would still be the challenge of Svitolina most likely, but we take it one match at a time and just ravel in the breath of fresh air that was this comeback match. 

A well deserved win. 

Avenging that Roland Garros loss feels pretty damn sweet too.

Jazda!.

4 - Iga Swiatek has become the third player since the format’s introduction in 2009 to reach 4+ WTA-1000 quarter-finals in 5+ consecutive years (2022-2026) after Agnieszka Radwanska (2009-2014) and Simona Halep (2014-2019). Constancy.

61.7 - Iga Swiatek has now the best percentage of WTA-1000 quarter-finals reached (61.7%, 29/47), surpassing Serena Williams (61.2%, 30/49) since the format’s introduction in 2009. Area.

29 - Only Agnieszka Radwanska (35) has made more WTA-1000 quarter-finals than Iga Swiatek (29) before turning 26 years old since the format’s introduction in 2009. 

Iga Swiatek scores another solid win in Toronto

For the second round in a row, No. 7 seed Iga Swiatek conceded just three games to advance at the National Bank Open. The 2023 semifinalist sped past Viktorija Golubic 6-2, 6-1 in 66 minutes to book her place in the fourth round.1d ago

Golubic occupies a rare place in Swiatek's career lore: she's the only player who has ever defeated the Pole in the first round of a Grand Slam. But that was back at Wimbledon 2019, when Swiatek was just 18 years old. The former World No. 1 has not lost to Golubic in three matches since, and conceded just five games to her in their last two encounters.

"For sure it was a good day, and I'm really happy with the way I played," Swiatek said in her on-court interview. "Even though the first game wasn't super smooth, I knew I can start from the beginning, and then it went my way and I could find my rhythm."

Swiatek will next face either No. 10 seed Marta Kostyuk or No. 19 seed Madison Keysas she bids to reach her second quarterfinal in Canada.

Drop shots provide highlights for both: Though Swiatek dropped serve in the first game of the match, once she had broken back immediately the contest was largely one-way traffic. The six-time major champion landed 18 winners to Golubic's five and conceded just 14 points on serve -- including that opening break.

But there were still some spectacular moments from both players to entertain the Toronto crowd. Golubic came up with the first, delivering enthralling variety and finishing with a half-volleyed pickup pass in a 25-stroke first-set exchange to hold for the first time. Swiatek may have been inspired: the 25-year-old has eschewed the drop shot for many years, but she came up with a brilliant one en route to breaking Golubic for 2-0 in the second set.

For the most part, though, Swiatek managed to keep a lid on Golubic's variety and shotmaking abilities.

"I think I played back her slice pretty well, so the change of rhythm didn't bother me that much," she said in her press conference. "I tried to pick the right balls to attack because I was controlling the pace, it was just about the decision making."

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 Another good win for Iga today, sure Golubic doesn't really have any weapons to hurt Iga but she can be tricky with all the different spins and speeds of the ball. 

I thought Iga handled it superbly, she was patient, in extended rallies and waited for the right shot to finish instead of rushing as she has been of late. 

Something her and her new coach had the chance to work on and it showed. 

That patience is something she's going to need in her next match against Kostyuk who'll definitely force her to rush and take her time away. 

While Kostyuk was impressive in her match against Keys, she definitely wasn't in her first match of this tournement and had quite a few double faults. 

As good a season as Kostyuk has had she's still prone to having these kind of performances, but regardless of which version shows up on Saturday I have a good feeling about it. 

I think Iga might just get the chance for some revenge over Roland Garros this year.

Iga kept her focus all the way though the match as well which was a very encouraging sign. 

Kostyuk will be the true litmus test of this tournament. 

If Iga can get past her, the entire rest of this season might just have some hope for good things to come and that her work really is showing some progress. 

But even if she doesn't as long as I see Iga really fighting and problem solving it'll feel like a win, because at Roland Garros Iga just seemed helpless and give up. 

I'm feeling cautiously optimistic about this one.

Jazda Iga!

Iga Swiatek starts Toronto return with a win

Playing her first match of the Hard-Court Swing, Iga Swiatek raced out to a 6-0, 3-0 lead over Sara Bejlek in just 45 minutes -- but had to battle for nearly another hour to finish off the valiant Czech 6-0, 6-3 in 1 hour and 34 minutes.

"For sure it was a good match, and a good start of the hard-court season," Swiatek told reporters afterward. "I'm happy with the level. The first set I was playing with a lot of confidence and very straightforward, so for sure a good one. Then, in second, parts of that were kind of the same as first. But there were for sure a few tricky games, especially the long one. I haven't played a game like that in some time, so I'm happy that I won it and I was solid at the end, so for sure a good match."

The pair had already met in the second round of Roland Garros this year -- and though Swiatek won that encounter 6-2, 6-3, she noted afterwards that Bejlek's speed and variety had made it a "tricky match." It was little surprise that the No. 7 seed came out of the blocks sharp, winning a superb cat-and-mouse exchange on the very first point and then hammering a return winner for an immediate break of the Bejlek serve.

That set the stage for a dominant opening set in which Swiatek fired seven winners, committed only three unforced errors and conceded just 11 points in total. As she advanced to a point to hold for 4-0 in the second set, the possibility of her first 6-0, 6-0 victory since defeating Amanda Anisimova in the 2025 Wimbledon final loomed.

Hot shots and a 13-deuce tussle: Swiatek passed up the 4-0 opportunity by netting a forehand -- and Bejlek, who had been switching up her tactics with drop shots and net play in a bid to get a foothold in the match, seized her opportunity to create some momentum. The World No. 38, who claimed her first WTA title in Abu Dhabi in February, won the best point of the match in the next game, an enthralling 19-stroke exchange in which she did not give Swiatek the same shot twice, and finished with an angled backhand pass.

With Swiatek's lead cut to 3-2, the Polish star had to battle through a marathon 13-deuce game to prevent Bejlek from leveling the score. It featured both spectacular winners and cheap mistakes as both players' form oscillated; Swiatek managed to save nine break points before finally converting her sixth game point as Bejlek sent a forehand long.

"Honestly, I didn't know it was that long," Swiatek said. "When I was playing, I didn't really feel that. But for sure I knew that she missed some opportunities, I missed some opportunities. I really wanted to be solid for just two points in a row to win it, because at the end that's what you need to win a game when it's like deuce/advantage, deuce/advantage, you know. I knew that I can for sure use the opportunities, because two or three of them I just missed, it was my mistake. I knew that I can just come back to being solid, and she helped me a little bit to close it."

Having emerged from that tussle, Swiatek managed to get over the line safely, sealing her third match point when a dead net cord went in her favor. However, her tally of 24 unforced errors in the second set is a statistic she'll aim to improve on when she faces Viktorija Golubic, who upset No. 31 seed Donna Vekic 5-7, 6-2, 6-3, in the third round.

wtatennis.com

First set felt like vintage Iga. 2nd set things got a bit complicated in the 6th game. But the fact that Iga won a crazy 21 minute game saving 9 break points felt encouraging. 

Sure some might say that it was a lack of focus, the forehand completely going off and rushing once her opponent picked up her level. 

But I'm choosing to look at the positives, because for 9 games Iga was flawless. 

And I just missed her on tour so damn much.

Winning that game might give her some belief that she can still really hang in there even when things start to go awry as long as she stays calm and problem solves. 

The first 9 games remined me how she still truly is one of the best returners on tour. 

And when everything is clicking, forehand, serve etc she still is just an absolute treat to watch. 

I'm genuinely looking forward to watching her more this week. 

Welcome back Iga.

40 - Iga Swiatek hs claimed her 40th set with 6-0 score line in Tier1/WTA-1000 events, only Martina Hingis (52) and Serena Williams (50) would have more since the format's introduction in 1990. Fire.

 
2 - Since the WTA-1000 format’s introduction in 2009, only Serena Williams (80.4%) holds a better career winning percentage than Iga Swiatek (79.8%, 139-35) in such events. Marching.

WTA to Require Genetic Sex Testing for All Players

Big news to break here on Bounces today, at the messy intersection of women’s sports and gender issues.

Bounces can report that the Women’s Tennis Association has enacted a policy requiring that all WTA players must undergo genetic sex testing in order to maintain their eligibility to compete on the WTA Tour.

While there are zero known transgender women currently active at any level of professional women’s tennis—and there haven’t been any for nearly half a century—the phantom threat of trans women in women’s sports has gained traction in recent years, primarily as a moral panic fomented by Republican lawmakers and pundits seeking a culture-war wedge issue for political benefit.

Now, in a decision that may reflect a political shift in the organization, the WTA Board has decided to heed the movement’s growing traction within sports.

Starting this month, the WTA is taking the unprecedented step of requiring all of its players to undergo genetic testing to weed out any women who may have a specific genetic marker that suggests traces of male biology. This, as far as my research has shown, will make the WTA the first independent professional women’s sports league or tour to mandate such genetic screening for all of its athletes.1

“I acknowledge that if I fail to undergo [genetic sex testing] as requested by the WTA or compete in a WTA Tournament in which I, to my knowledge, am ineligible to compete under this Eligibility Policy, the WTA may take disciplinary action against me…I further acknowledge and agree that such action may result in (among other things) a specified period of ineligibility to participate in WTA Tournaments, which may lead to the reason for my ineligibility becoming public knowledge or being the subject of public speculation.” —Fragment of new document which must be signed by all WTA players.

benrothenberg.com

What absolute BS. Hey WTA you want to protect women sports and women themselves?. 

How about instead of policing women's bodies you spend your money and resources on weeding out the abusive coaches and players on both tours who are allowed to play and be around women. 

How about implementing a better system for dealing with online harassment and death threats they face on a daily basis when they lose. 

How about promoting them and paying them the same amount of money as the men. 

Because this?. 

Just another smoke screen trying to take away from the actual real issues that women in sports face today. 

Absolute nonsense.