Swiatek Shreds Shnaider, Speeds Into Toronto Semifinals

By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, August 10, 2026
Photo credit: National Bank Open Facebook

The cobalt court in Toronto is turning into a blueprint for Iga Swiatek’s title build.

Stacking physical points, Swiatek deconstructed Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1 driving into her second semifinal of the season at the National Bank Open in Toronto.

A sharp Swiatek overwhelmed Shnaider winning 11 of 16 points played on the left-hander’s second serve and converting five of nine break points to reach the Canadian Open semifinals for the second time following her run to the 2023 final four.

“I think I adjusted well to the conditions. It got quite windy,” Swiatek said. “Probably the most wind I had on my match during the whole tournament, so it wasn’t easy.

“I adjusted also to the lefty spin well. I tried to open the court pretty good.”

Continuing her hunt for her first final since she won Seoul last September, Swiatek will play Elina Svitolina for a spot in the final.

Overwhelmed in the opening set, Svitolina stormed through eight straight games dispatching Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 to reach the National Bank Open semifinals for the third time.

Lashing a crosscourt backhand strike, Svitolina broke at love to end a 93-minute comeback conquest then did a running victory leap in celebration.

The ninth-seeded Svitolina improved to 40-11 on the season, matching Jessica Pegula for most wins on the WTA Tour this season.

The 2017 Canadian Open champion Svitolina edged Swiatek in a three-set Rome semifinal on red clay in May.Six-time Grand Slam champion Swiatek has won four of their seven career clashes, but Svitolina has defeated the Pole in both of their 2026 meetings. Svitolina scored a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 triumph over Swiatek in the Indian Wells quarterfinals last March.

Carrying a 37-5 career record vs. left-handers onto court tonight, Swiatek spun a forehand winner down the line for triple break point in the opening game. When Shnaider sailed a forehand, Swiatek broke at 15 to open.

That game really set the tone for the rest of this 64-minute thrashing. A confident Swiatek was calling the shots using her spin control to unsettle Shnaider.

Hitting high topspin forehands that shot out of the 5’6” Shnaider’s strike zone, Swiatek stamped successive solid holds for 3-1.

The Shnaider lefty forehand is one of her best weapons, but she was misfiring on that stroke as the seventh game escalated into the longest of the set. Shnaider sent a forehand beyond the baseline to face a third break point then netted a forehand down the line as Swiatek scored her second break for 5-2.

Variation rather than vicious pace marked Swiatek’s serving success. Frequently hitting the kick serve wide on the ad side to displace the left-hander, Swiatek won 12 of 14 first-serve points in the first set and closed it on her second set point when Shnaider knocked a return into net. Swiatek committed just five unforced errors in the 31-minute opener.

Throughout this tournament—even after she dropped the first set to her French Open conqueror Marta Kostyuk—Swiatek has shown a willingness to patiently work the points. She did that effectively tonight.

“Well, that was the goal from the beginning when I started working with [former Rafa Nadal coach] Francis [Roig], but for sure, you know, this period of Grand Slams in summer and different tournaments for me,” Swiatek said. “You know, playing on clay, and with all this fuss around that I usually have there, sometimes it’s not helping.

“So I didn’t have so much clarity in my head to always keep doing the stuff that he wanted me to do.

“Here, I feel like it’s already got more into my habit, you know, and it became more natural. That’s definitely how I want to play, to have this patience.”

Trampolining high topspin, Swiatek rattled out successive forehand errors scoring her third break for a 2-1 second-set lead.

The wide serve not only often set Shnaider scurrying outside of the doubles alley to return, it created plenty of open court space for Swiatek. Thumping a bounce smash, Swiatek backed up the break at 15 for 3-1.

The six-time Grand Slam champion cruised through eight of the last 10 points to close in 64 minutes. Swiatek improved to 27-12 and reached WTA 1000 semifinals on both hard court and clay for the fifth straight year. Swiatek is the third woman since 2009 to achieve that feat, after fellow No. 1 champions Simona Halep (2014-19) and Aryna Sabalenka (2021-25)