Swiatek: “We all work to have these moments, and for sure I was missing it”
Fresh off her first title of 2026, Iga Swiatek discussed her Toronto victory and overturning her losing record against Elena Rybakina. She revealed a new emotion that fueled her run: anger at the unfair judgment she has faced this season.
Iga Swiatek, Toronto 2026 | © Zuma / PsNewz
Iga Swiatek beat Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 to win the National Bank Open on Thursday night, her first title of the season and her first in Canada, ending an 11-month wait for a trophy in a season she has since described as one of the bumpiest of her career. Speaking to reporters afterward, she was unusually candid, tracing her turnaround to a losing head-to-head against Rybakina, a raucous, unexpectedly Polish crowd in Toronto, and an emotion she said she had never let herself feel on a tennis court before.
You entered this match having lost your two previous matches against Elena. What changed today?
Iga Swiatek: She’s a really tough opponent. If she plays her best game, she’s probably better than everyone. So you need to use all the opportunities, you can’t let yourself make mistakes or bad decisions. I was really in the zone today, I wanted to make the match physical, and to remember that I have a game I can control with the spin and the curve the ball has, in these conditions I found confidence in that too. But any match against her is tough, especially knowing how she serves and can win so many points for free, you need to stay patient and not let that annoy you a little bit.
Can you describe your winning reaction once you captured match point? You started with a big smile, then looked immediately to your team and pointed to your head, looking so intent, so dialed in, fired up. Can you explain the emotions going through your mind in those two moments?
Iga Swiatek: I was really fired up. I kept my composure till the end, even though there were moments during the tournament where I lost the level a little bit, or had a little bit of doubt. In the final today I was certain what to do and how to use all my strengths, and I felt my mentality was in a good place the whole week, and I reacted well to positive things that came, but also to the challenges, and could problem-solve basically on every match.
Your first title here in Canada, and your first title of 2026. What does this title mean to you?
Iga Swiatek: It means a lot. I’m a little speechless because the journey has been bumpy this season, so to be here and to hold the trophy, and to win against, I guess, the best players, for sure means a lot. I’m just proud of myself and super happy.
Your last title was 11 months ago. How much did it weigh on you, not being in a final and not having a title in about eleven months?
Iga Swiatek: I wouldn’t say it mattered this week, but overall, we all work to have these moments, and for sure I was missing it a little bit. Sometimes I was impatient throughout the season, seeking it, maybe when my game was not ready. I’m happy that at the end I stayed focused on just grinding and improving, because that’s the most important thing, and this season it has been necessary. For sure this week my tennis clicked, physicality as well, and the mental work. Best week of the season so far.
What allows you to play your best tennis when it matters most, in finals?
Iga Swiatek: I don’t really know why, because I try to approach these matches the same as the ones before, because I know what I did right, and I’m just trying to continue that. I guess if I’m in the final it means my game is good, and that gives me confidence for sure. It also means I’ve played some matches, some probably tough, some not, so I know what to do, I’m already in the rhythm. I guess the focus, and not letting your head go to places where it can distract you from being in the final, you can feel the pressure. 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 I just try to focus on that. Obviously sometimes it’s impossible, sometimes there are finals or other matches where it’s just hard to handle, but you need to always try. I’m happy that most of the time it went well for me.
I feel like I worked hard to cut out all this noise, this unnecessary noise. That’s what makes me angry, because it shouldn’t be like that.
It felt like you had the crowd’s support for all six of your matches here in Toronto. What was it like to be here, and what were the fans like over the week and a half?
Iga Swiatek: They were amazing. You could hear them, sometimes a little wild, screaming in unnecessary moments, but besides that, really supportive. I heard many great things from them, and this is the best thing you can experience at these tournaments — after the matches I had the opportunity to sign and be close to them, and I felt the support and the love. I heard at the beginning of the tournament that there’s a big Polish community here, but I didn’t know it was that big. Half the stadium was proudly Polish, so I really appreciate that, and for sure it gives you extra energy. I felt it in the matches.
You said after the match that this was the first time you were feeling anger as an emotion. Did you see value in that anger over the course of the week, playing with it, and is it something you might want to keep with you going forward?
Iga Swiatek: I did feel it during the tournament. After I won, I kind of let myself feel it a little bit, because as I said in the speech, there are plenty of things that athletes, and not only athletes, all people, have to struggle with, and sometimes we need to fight things that we shouldn’t. That’s why I’m even more proud of myself, that I focused on my path and didn’t let that defy me. I believed, and I know what my game is worth.
For those of us who don’t quite understand what you were talking about, can you clarify what was making you angry?
Iga Swiatek: The other things I mentioned in the speech, this unfair judgment, and sometimes people just judging and hating. But it’s good to focus on how to create space for yourself, to just focus on yourself. It’s not so easy to do that, but the best thing about these two weeks for me was that I could kind of let it go. This anger came after I won, but during the whole process I was really focused on just growing and progressing, and the same happened after Wimbledon, when I started practicing on hard courts. For sure I feel like I worked hard to cut out all this noise, this unnecessary noise. That’s what makes me angry, because it shouldn’t be like that, and it doesn’t need to be like that.
Do you mean on social media?
Iga Swiatek: Well, if you were Polish, you would know.
