Iga Swiatek claimed her maiden WTA trophy of the year by defeating Elena Rybakina in straight sets during Thursday’s Canadian Open final.
The six-time Major champion enjoyed strong support from the Toronto crowd as she overcame the world’s second-ranked player, Rybakina, with a 6-2 6-3 scoreline.
Rybakina, the reigning Australian Open titleholder, found it difficult in the first set, committing 12 unforced errors, whereas the 25-year-old Swiatek converted two break opportunities against the Kazakh and successfully defended two break points on her own serve.
During the second set, the 27-year-old Rybakina could not break the serve of world number eight Swiatek, allowing the Polish star to seal her 26th career championship in just one hour and 15 minutes.
“This victory is incredibly meaningful to me after going through a challenging couple of months,” expressed Swiatek, whose maiden triumph in a Canadian final will propel her back into the top five of the world rankings.
It has been a demanding season for Swiatek, who hopes to capture her first Major title since her commanding victory in last year’s Wimbledon final when she competes at the upcoming US Open later this month.
Earlier in January, she made it to the last eight at the Australian Open in Melbourne before falling to eventual winner Rybakina. Subsequently, she suffered earlier departures at the French Open and this year’s Wimbledon, exiting in the fourth and third rounds respectively.
Back in April, she added Spanish coach Francisco Roig, a former mentor to Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu, to her coaching staff.
Swiatek admitted that blocking out online criticism while trying to rediscover her peak performance can be quite difficult.
“I am truly pleased that I remained dedicated to my development, adjusting aspects of my play, and getting better, regardless of the constant commentary from people online,” Swiatek remarked.
“Managing all of that is certainly a challenge.”
