Toronto, Thursday night. Iga Swiatek is a set down, Elina Svitolina is surging, and the Canadian Open looks like it might slip through the world number seven's fingers. It doesn't. Swiatek locks in, wins the third set 6-3, and steps off the court having reached her first WTA final of a season that, by her own admission, has been the hardest of her life.

Six Grand Slam titles, and still the grind finds her. The Pole, 25, had not gone beyond a semi-final since the start of 2026, and the pressure had been visible. But in Toronto something has shifted. "This week has been really positive and inspirational for me," Swiatek said, "and it always kind of shows that you need to keep going no matter what.

" It is the kind of quiet, steely resolve that explains why she has those six majors in the first place. Waiting for her on the other side of the net will be Elena Rybakina, the Australian Open champion who is fast building a case as the most dangerous player on tour. The Kazakh, 27, dropped the first set to an aggressive Coco Gauff before reeling off four games in a row to take the second, then controlled the third to win 5-7 6-2 6-2. It is a pattern: Rybakina also came from behind against Naomi Osaka in the quarter-final.

She doesn't panic; she recalibrates.