NATIONAL BANK OPEN

August 12, 2026

Iga Swiatek

Press Conference

I. SWIATEK/E. Svitolina

6-3, 1-6, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Iga, congratulations, into your first final of 2026. Can you give us your thoughts on your performance tonight.

IGA SWIATEK: Yeah, for sure a tough match. Against Elina it's always tough, so I'm happy that I won this one. Especially that I came back in the third set playing better. So, yeah, that's for sure a big improvement. Yeah, I'm proud of myself.

THE MODERATOR: First question, please.

Q. What tactical adjustments did you make in the third set, and speak to your fighting spirit, after being down a break in the third set, how you were able to come back and find a way to win.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, mostly I just wanted to adjust the quality, you know, to have better quality. Because tactics, you know, can't do much if you're just not hitting the ball right.

I knew I can do it, because I did it in the first set. I had it in me, 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.

Q. Going off the methodical play that you had in the first set, in terms of building the points and finding your spots, why do you think that slipped in the second? Do you feel like you were rushing yourself, or was it her adjustment in the second?

IGA SWIATEK: I think I let her play her game a little bit because I sometimes play too short. The balls were not that heavy from my side, so I just needed to put even more energy if I wanted to play better in the third.

In the second, they were sometimes falling short, sometimes the approach shots were not enough. So it was just about the quality, and I knew I can improve it.

Q. They said on the broadcast you arrived in Toronto a little bit earlier than normal. What benefits have you seen from that extra preparation time?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, it's always better to be in a place where you're going to play a tournament. Obviously I play tournaments where I've been before, they're like two weeks, and I played after one hit.

This time I just had a lot of time, and not much to do with it, that's why I ended up here pretty early (laughing.)

But, honestly, I don't think it would matter if I would be here two days later. But for sure it was just comfortable.

From the beginning we felt like we have still a lot of time until the tournament, so the practices were not like focused on the tournament, they were just to develop my game. Later on obviously it switched more to just preparing for the opponents.

Q. Wondering, after the second set, what was, where was your head at, just in terms of what was your message to yourself going into the third?

IGA SWIATEK: Well, that it's not going to be easy, but if I want to win a semifinal where you know your opponent is playing good, I need to step up, and there's no looking back.

Like, you kind of start from the beginning when we start the third set. It doesn't matter what happened in the second, I know what to do in the third, and I just needed to follow that.

Q. Talking about tomorrow's final, obviously we're waiting on who you'll play, and you've played Elena and Coco many times. Could you give us a preview on playing both, and any differences you see in their games on hard court.

IGA SWIATEK: Well, they play for sure much different. Coco spins the ball more. Elena is more of a flat hitter. They're both tall, so good serves, but different styles.

Yeah, I mean, obviously we know each other pretty well, but our game is constantly developing, so it's good to look up to the last matches and, yeah, we'll see who is going to win.