08/13/26 09:39:00
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08/13 21:38 CDT Swiatek beats Rybakina in Toronto for her first WTA Tour title
of the year
Swiatek beats Rybakina in Toronto for her first WTA Tour title of the year
TORONTO (AP) --- Seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek beat second-seeded Elena Rybakina
6-2, 6-3 on Thursday in the National Bank Open for her first WTA Tour title of
the year and 26th overall.
Swiatek, from Poland, broke Rybakina's serve early in the match and went on to
take the opening set in 29 minutes. Swiatek had another break at 2-2 in the
second set before closing out the win in a tidy 75 minutes.
"I was really in the zone" Swiatek said. "I wanted to make the match physical."
The hard-serving Rybakina --- who leads the tour in aces --- struggled to find
her rhythm. Swiatek kept her on her heels with a consistent attack, few errors
and excellent range on court.
"I wasn't playing aggressive enough and wasn't playing with (enough) energy,"
Rybakina said. "We all know she's a fighter and she can run left and right much
longer than me."
A six-time Grand Slam champion, Swiatek is projected to move up two spots to
sixth in the new world ranking.
"I'm speechless a little bit because the journey has been bumpy this season,"
Swiatek said. "To be here and to hold the trophy and to win against the best
players means a lot."
Rybakina will remain No. 2.
Earlier, Katerina Siniakova and Shuai Zhang beat Sara Errani and Nicole
Melichar-Martinez 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles final.
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