Swiatek will re-enter the WTA top five after a straight-sets victory over Elena Rybakina that secured the Canadian Open title in Toronto. The Polish world number eight outplayed the world number two, winning 6-2 6-3 in one hour and 15 minutes as the home crowd backed her through the final.
Rybakina struggled from the start, committing 12 unforced errors in the opening set as Swiatek broke serve twice and also survived two break points against her own serve. The Australian Open champion managed only 13 winners across the match and finished with one ace and four double faults, while a tally of 23 unforced errors compounded her troubles.
Swiatek, 25, closed out the match by taking five of the last six games after Rybakina held a 2-1 lead in the second set. "It means so, so much to me because the past months were not easy," she said after the victory, reflecting on a campaign that has fallen short of her usual Grand Slam standards.
Her season has included a quarter-final exit at the Australian Open in Melbourne, where she lost to the eventual champion Rybakina, a fourth-round finish at the French Open and a third-round exit at Wimbledon. In April Swiatek added Spaniard Francisco Roig to her coaching team, Roig having previously worked with Rafael Nadal and Emma Raducanu.
"I'm really happy that I kept focusing on growing, changing my game a little bit, improving despite all the opinions that many people have about me every day on the internet," Swiatek said. "It's not easy to deal with all of that."
Rybakina conceded the match with a brief assessment. "I tried my best but it wasn't enough," she said, after a run of three consecutive three-set matches earlier in the tournament left her short in the final.
Elsewhere at the North American hard-court swing, Great Britain's Katie Boulter notched a first-round win at the Cincinnati Open, defeating American Katie Volynets 7-5 0-6 6-4. The 30-year-old's victory, her first since June, sets up a second-round meeting with Wimbledon champion and sixth seed Linda Noskova.
