Iga Swiatek continued her resurgence at the Canadian Open by coming through a roller-coaster match against Elina Svitolina to reach her first Tour final since September.

The former world No.1 valiantly battled to a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory. Swiatek was a break down in the deciding set but managed to turn the match around by winning four games in a row. The triumph is her third win over a top 20 player in the draw, with her other victories being over Marta Kostyuk and Diana Shnaider. This is the first time she has managed to claim a trio of wins over such opponents at the same tournament since the 2024 French Open.

“I wanted to adjust the quality to have better quality because tactics can’t do much if you’re just not hitting the ball right,” Swiatek said of her comeback against Svitolina in the third set.

“I knew I could do it because I did it in the first set. I just needed to find the right rhythm. “I’m happy that I was patient enough to do that and didn’t get disappointed or didn’t give up, and just found a way to play better in the third.”

Earlier in the week, Swiatek said her resurgence in form was due to having greater clarity and better patience on the court through the work she has done with her coach, Francisco Roig. Roig joined her team earlier this year and has a wealth of experience in the sport after working with Rafael Nadal for more than a decade. His other collaborations include stints with Matteo Berrettini and Emma Raducanu.

The hope for Swiatek and her team is that this work helps her in the final against Elena Rybakina, who battled back from a set down to oust Coco Gauff 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.

“Elena is more of a flat hitter,” she said

“We know each other pretty well, but our game is constantly developing, so it’s good to look up to the last matches. We’ll see who is going to win.”

Rybakina has experienced a tough run to the final, with four of her five matches played going to three sets. The last player to win four three-set matches en route to the title match of the tournament was Bianca Andreescu in 2019.

“She has been playing well, and it’s going to be a very difficult match,” Rybakina said of facing Swiatek.

“We know each other so well. We played so many times.

“In my case, I feel like it’s more about the recovery after so many hours on the court, and bringing as much energy as I can.”

Should Rybakina win, she will move to four points away from world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA rankings.