Poland's Iga Świątek and Ukraine's Elina Svitolina are the first to secure spots among the top four at the WTA 1000 tournament in Toronto. Świątek dismantled 15th seed Diana Shnaider, while Svitolina came from behind to defeat compatriot Ekaterina Alexandrova.
World No. 8 Iga Świątek delivered a near-flawless performance in the quarterfinals of the WTA 1000 event in Toronto, defeating Russian representative Diana Shnaider 6-2, 6-1 in just 64 minutes of play. In the other match in the top half of the draw, No. 9 Elina Svitolina rallied from a set down to break the resistance of 16th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, winning 3-6, 6-0, 6-3.
The former world No. 1 allowed no upset against the 15th seed. From the very first point, she imposed her rhythm and dictated the rallies, leaving Shnaider no room to develop her game. The Russian, who had sensationally ousted world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the round of 16, had no answer to the Pole's aggressive and precise play this time.
For Świątek, this is only her second semifinal of the 2026 season. Her first came in Rome, where she was stopped by her next opponent. Her last title dates back nearly a year, when she triumphed in Seoul, and it's clear she is motivated to reach another final.
The Ukrainian showed character after dropping the opening set. After losing the first 3-6, she took complete control and reeled off six straight games in the second set for 6-0. In the decisive set, she held firm and closed out the match 6-3 against compatriot Alexandrova, who had pulled off an upset the day before by eliminating the WTA rankings leader.
Svitolina will thus play her second Masters semifinal on hard courts this season, having reached the same stage at Indian Wells earlier in the year. Her head-to-head record against Świątek doesn't favor her, the Pole leads 4-3, although the Ukrainian has won their last two encounters, including the one in Rome this year.
In the bottom half of the draw, the semifinal spots will be contested by Switzerland's Belinda Bencic against American Coco Gauff, and Japan's Naomi Osaka against Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina. The winners of those matches will complete the semifinal lineup at the prestigious Canadian tournament.
Tennis fans in Croatia can follow the entire tournament on Sport Klub, available via A1, Hrvatski Telekom, Telemach, Total TV, OptiTV, and the EON platform.
