Iga Swiatek beats Elena Rybakina to win National Bank Open

Iga Swiatek defeated Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 to win the National Bank Open in Toronto, claiming her first WTA Tour title of the year and 26th overall. Swiatek controlled the match with consistent attacking tennis and few errors

Toronto: Seventh-seeded Iga Swiatek beat second-seeded Elena Rybakina 6-2, 6-3 on Thursday in the National Bank Open for her first WTA Tour title of the year and 26th overall.

Swiatek, from Poland, broke Rybakina’s serve early in the match and went on to take the opening set in 29 minutes. Swiatek had another break at 2-2 in the second set before closing out the win in a tidy 75 minutes.

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“I was really in the zone,” Swiatek said. “I wanted to make the match physical.” The hard-serving Rybakina, who leads the tour in aces, struggled to find her rhythm. Swiatek kept her on her heels with a consistent attack, few errors and excellent range on court.

“I wasn’t playing aggressive enough and wasn’t playing with (enough) energy,” Rybakina said. “We all know she’s a fighter and she can run left and right much longer than me.” A six-time Grand Slam champion, Swiatek is projected to move up two spots to sixth in the new world ranking.

“I’m speechless a little bit because the journey has been bumpy this season,” Swiatek said. “To be here and to hold the trophy and to win against the best players means a lot.” Rybakina will remain No. 2.

Earlier, Katerina Siniakova and Shuai Zhang beat Sara Errani and Nicole Melichar-Martinez 6-3, 6-4 in the doubles final.