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Iga Swiatek beat Elina Svitolina 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 and Elena Rybakina defeated Coco Gauff 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 to set up a title clash at Toronto Masters. Rybakina can overtake Sabalenka as world No. 1 by winning the title.
Swiatek lost the second set 1-6, fell behind once early in the third and still won. Rybakina lost the first set and came back for the third time this tournament. The Toronto final, arriving just before 1am local time, will be contested between two players tied 6-6 all-time — and one of them can end Aryna Sabalenka’s world No. 1 reign by lifting the trophy.
Toronto, Canada: Four women entered Sobeys Stadium’s Centre Court on Wednesday evening. Two of them — the ones who had each already fought back from a set down earlier this week — did it again. The 2026 National Bank Open women’s final will be contested between Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina, tied 6-6 in their 12-meeting head-to-head series, with Rybakina having won the last two meetings. It is one of the most anticipated women’s finals in Toronto in recent memory.
Swiatek Holds Off Svitolina — But Only Just
The first semi-final had everything a rivalry match should have. A rain delay in the first set. A bagel in the second. A tense third set decided by a single break. And a Ukrainian crowd in the Greater Toronto Area doing everything they could to will Elina Svitolina — their flag-waving, fist-pumping, never-surrendering icon — over the line.
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Swiatek took the opening set 6-3, bossing from the baseline with the precision that has made her the most feared clay-court player of her generation, applying the same principles on Toronto’s hard courts. She broke Svitolina twice and gave nothing away, serving efficiently and dictating rallies from her forehand wing.
The second set belonged entirely to Svitolina. She refused to rally with the Pole — taking big cuts on every ball in sight — and was rewarded with two breaks on her way to a 5-0 lead. She had three set points on Swiatek’s serve, could not convert the bagel, and had to settle for 6-1. Sobeys Stadium was rocking. The match was level.
In the third set, the level-headedness that Swiatek has developed under coach Marcin Matos-Roig came to the fore. Svitolina broke first to lead 1-0, but Swiatek broke back immediately and then broke again at 3-3 to take control — a decisive response that shut the door on Svitolina’s best passage of play. She served out 6-3.
“I was really fighting,” Swiatek said afterwards. “In the second set I felt she was just so good — I couldn’t find answers. But I stayed patient and I found a way in the third.”
Svitolina, who won their two previous 2026 meetings in Indian Wells and Rome, had extended her win streak at WTA 1000 events to ten matches before it finally ended. She took the defeat with grace: “I had my chances. She played better when it mattered.”
Rybakina Beats Gauff — For the First Time
The second semi-final stretched until nearly 1am local time and produced the most dramatic match of the tournament. Elena Rybakina, who had already rallied from a set and a double break down against Samsonova and from a set and 4-2 down against Osaka earlier in the week, did it again against Coco Gauff — this time without the same margin for error.
Gauff — who had conceded an NBO-low 16 games through her first four matches including a walkover in the quarterfinals after Belinda Bencic withdrew with a hip injury — entered the semi-final as the fresher player by a significant margin. She took the opening set 7-5, playing the aggressive, front-footed tennis that won her the 2023 US Open, and appeared on course for her first career win over Rybakina.
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There would not be one. Rybakina changed her game plan in the second set — taking time away from Gauff with flatter returns and varying her serve more aggressively — and won it 6-2 before repeating the performance in the third, 6-2 again. Gauff had no answer for the adjustment, with Rybakina dominating the final two sets comprehensively.
“She plays a very specific style,” Rybakina said of Gauff. “I had to find a way.” A title in Toronto would be her third of the 2026 season — she has already won the Australian Open and Stuttgart — and would move her within four ranking points of Aryna Sabalenka’s world No. 1 position, which Sabalenka has held since October 2024.
What the Final Means
Swiatek vs Rybakina. Six wins each across 12 meetings. Rybakina won their last two encounters — the Australian Open quarterfinal in January 2026 and their most recent hard court encounter.
Swiatek is seeking her first WTA 1000 title of the season and a first Toronto trophy — she reached the semi-finals here in 2023 before losing to Jessica Pegula. Rybakina is seeking her third title of the year and the world No. 1 ranking. The final is scheduled for Thursday August 13 at 7pm local time.
Semi-final results (Toronto, Wednesday August 12): [7] I. Swiatek (POL) def. [9] E. Svitolina (UKR) 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 [2] E. Rybakina (KAZ) def. [4] C. Gauff (USA) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2
Final (Thursday August 13, 7pm local / 04:30 IST Friday): [7] Iga Swiatek (POL) vs [2] Elena Rybakina (KAZ)
H2H: Tied 6-6 | Rybakina won last 2 (Australian Open QF Jan 2026, most recent hard court meeting)
Rybakina’s 2026: Australian Open ✓ | Stuttgart ✓ | Toronto final If Rybakina wins: Closes within 4 ranking points of Sabalenka for world No. 1
Swiatek key stats: 6-time Grand Slam winner (including 2025 Wimbledon) | First Toronto final Svitolina: 10-match WTA 1000 win streak ended | 2017 Toronto champion
Venue: Sobeys Stadium, Toronto | Surface: Outdoor Hard
