Canadian Open: Elina Svitolina Rallies Into Semi-Finals

Svitolina rallies past Alexandrova

Double Fault Then Winner: Elina Svitolina closes out Alexandrova in Toronto. Svitolina overcomes early struggles, books Swiatek showdown.

Svitolina beats Alexandrova, faces Swiatek next...

Iga Swiatek and Elina Svitolina are set to face off in the Canadian Open semi-finals after both picked up dominant wins.

Former world No. 1 Swiatek cruised into the Toronto Masters final four on Monday, beating Russia’s Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1 in just 64 minutes.

 

The six-time Grand Slam champion from Poland has now reached her second WTA semi-final of the year after Rome. She’ll be chasing her first final appearance since lifting the trophy at last year’s Korea Open in Seoul.

 

She will face either Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina or Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova on Wednesday, with a spot in the final on the line.

“From the beginning I went for it. I felt like I could dominate,” Swiatek said. “I was quite happy with the way I played.”

  

The 25-year-old world No. 8 from Warsaw will meet No. 9 Elina Svitolina on Wednesday. The Ukrainian came back to defeat No. 19 Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.

“It was a tricky match with the wind,” Swiatek said. “It was the first chance I had to play in the wind since I got here. I thought I needed to adjust to that. I just wanted to be more solid.”

Swiatek was dominant on serve, losing just three points on her first delivery. She also converted well on return, winning 11 of 16 points off Shnaider’s second serve.

The left-handed Shnaider gave up the opening break after sending a backhand long. Swiatek pushed ahead to 5-2 with another break when Shnaider netted a backhand, then closed out the set on serve in 31 minutes.

In the second set, Swiatek broke for 2-1 after a forehand error from Shnaider. She added a second break with a forehand winner to go up 4-1, and sealed the match by breaking once more when Shnaider hit a forehand long.

Confident and Clinical 🔒@iga_swiatek locked in and defeated Shnaider in straight sets.#NBO26 pic.twitter.com/7ClbBSfddT

— wta (@WTA) August 11, 2026

Svitolina Fights Back To Reach Semi-Finals

Svitolina ran off eight straight games across the second and third sets to beat her Russian opponent in 1 hour, 33 minutes.

She lost serve at love in the first set’s final game after sending a backhand long. Alexandrova claimed the opener in 29 minutes, firing 12 winners to Svitolina’s three.

Alexandrova unraveled in the second, with a forehand long and two backhands into the net handing Svitolina three breaks.

Svitolina had a chance to close it out in the eighth game of the third set but gave the break back with a double fault. She responded immediately, breaking at love in the final game and finishing with a service-return winner.

The win sends her into the semi-finals against Swiatek. Swiatek leads their WTA head-to-head 4-3, but Svitolina has won both matches this year.

“Very pleased with my performance. With the fighting spirit,” Svitolina said. “She was playing really well in the first set. I had to really step into like a fighting mode.”